


Forgotten One

by The_Lich_Queen



Series: Chwyn yn y Goedwig [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Dark, Earth, Elements, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Fire, Gen, Lycanthropes, M/M, Monsters, Other, Sprite, Summoning, Water, air, light - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:00:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 32
Words: 53,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24441730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Lich_Queen/pseuds/The_Lich_Queen
Summary: Sarah Hikari is a young but powerful light bearer who lives in a natural zone, a place where all different bearers and even lycanthropes, live together in peace and free from fear from the outside world; she loves games, history and learning new skills; she also has a crush on her childhood water bearer friend Amy Agua, she is hoping they can get together in the summer.However, when she goes outside the natural zone the world events take the turn for the worst as a war between bearers breaks out. At the centre of this war is the one known as the 'Forgotten One', a person whose name is lost in time. The people who lived through those centuries that person lived, had their memories of robbed of what has now been called 'The Forgotten War'.Sarah's quest for knowledge and discovery takes her on a dangerous path, one that may lead them to the end of the world.
Series: Chwyn yn y Goedwig [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1901035
Comments: 8
Kudos: 5





	1. Discovery Arc: The Bearer Of Light

The young light bearer was smiling, yet it was filled with sorrow; her right hand remains over her forearm even after she concluded the lengthy task of healing her numerous wounds that had once covered her whole body.  
  
That smile continues to play on her lips- she was getting good at casting the healing effect; this was only due to the many bullies that plagued her life.

  
  
There was a great multitude of theories as to why these people felt the need to render her beaten and bloodied, to the point where she could no longer walk; the reasons ranged from little sense to understandable.  
  
Firstly, she thought it might be because of her love of discovery. She spent time with the teachers, willing to learn more thus labelling her a 'nerd', 'geek' and 'teacher's pet'.

  
  
And another was, while she was fifteen years of age, she had the appearance resembling a 'ten-year-old norm' because of her short stature- her face still held onto its baby fat, adding to this illusion. It was not uncommon for light, water and dark bearers to age slower than the other bearers, and 'norms' which was what humans that bear no elements grew at a much faster rate than bearers in general.  
  
And then was her overall appearance. Her skin was a strange pale. And she had long light purplish hair that curls slightly at the tips, with a neatly cut fringe along with light star shapes running through it. Eyes are different shades of purple, with a pale star in the irises.

  
The problem with having patterns in her hair and eyes were, it had been done during periods of wartime. There was the talk of another war for years. And her having these tattooed in her hair and eyes was declaring that she was a pro-war activist.  
Living in a natural zone it was a death wish for her.

  
  
However, these stars had been stained into her on the day of her birth and had not been her fault. Yet her peers cared little for this.  
  
Sarah Hikari sighs, she rolls her shoulders as her body felt light with the relief of being free from pain again. She allows her hand to drop to her thigh.  
  
Tilting her head back the young woman closes her eyes, concealing her bright purple star stained eyes that caused her so much grief.

  
  
As she sat on the edge of her bed, Sarah listens to the constant pitter-patter of the heavy rain against the window's glass; she amused the idea of someone crying for her.  
  
Blinking her eyes open she briefly glances around her messy room, standing she carefully steps over some stacked books in the front of the bed. Then with her arms held out to keep her balance, she moves towards her desk, all the while her eyes continue to stare to the 'floor'- the sheer number of books and other stuff that was piled all around meant this 'floor' had not been seen for a while and she was wondering if she should dream the fact she had one, to begin with.

  
  
"whoa!" Sarah cries out, her foot had caught onto something, making her perform an odd hoping dance the rest of the way.

  
  
Flopping down onto the desk's chair, letting out a giggle as she did. There she starts struggling out of the green blazer she was wearing as part of her school's uniform, letting it fall to the back of the chair.  
  
The large desk was filled with notebooks, open textbooks, pieces of paper with written work on them, along with many jars, boxes and odd objects. The teen began clearly space in front of herself, to start her homework; she closes some books, sticking paper in the pages and set them on top of other things on one end of the desk or placed them below her near her feet.

  
  
Settling back in her chair she examines her new work area and nods her head happy with that; she then reaches for her jars, running her index finger over the markings. Then she picks from them a small black coloured jar and sets it slightly to the right of herself.  
  
On opening the jar a small 'shadow' floats out, it started bobbing up and down on the mouth of the jar like an invisible string was keeping it from getting away.  
  
Pushing the jar a little more to the right, she pays no heed to the shadow- which should have been trying to get violently away from her but was strangely relaxed in her presence. She leans across the desk and drags over a box, opening it she takes out a small piece of silver about the size of a two pence piece and just as thin.

  
  
Holding it up high, she moves the silver in between her fingers and thumb, looking it under the light- Sarah had been surprised when the school had given her the silver pieces, Normally silver was reserved for third-year students, while copper was what the first years like her, was meant to use.

  
  
Sarah knew what was happening.  
  
Bearers could liken their gifts of power to the muscles of the body. The more it was flexed or worked the firmer and stronger it becomes; Sarah has been healing herself non-stop every day after school for years, and her 'light' had grown.  
  
Another reason for this increase in power was Sarah uses the basics.  
  
And only been using the basics for the last nine years, doing this she had unknowingly built up a solid foundation at her core. She had learnt from her Form Teacher a week ago, that this could cause someone to become powerful.  
  
Most children to move from the basics once they finish learning them, wanting to move onto bigger and better things quickly. In doing this, they never truly get the mastery over them.  
  
Sarah had only moved on from the basic even though she was in her first year of high school. Of course, she knew everything her peers did ... in theories and while she practised the casting spells both wordings and movements, she never put any power behind it.

  
  
'Smelting' as it was called, had become a favourite past time at the beginning of the school year, wanting to know how light-bearers could use their power outside of just healing. Smelting seems to be a booming business in their modern-day.  
  
Sarah held the silver in the palm of her left hand and with her right, she lets a ball of white-hot light flash over it- now was time for the shadow. Quickly calling upon it, asking it nicely rather than forcing it, the tiny shadow listens to the request and she starts casting, her words came out in a sing-song tone of voice. Sarah now calls upon the 'shines' and light brightens the room, the many deep shadows dance due to the many items.  
  
The silver rose up off her hand just a small degree, allowing the metal to bubble as Sarah's light and shines that came to her call, starts refining it; the shadow was loosened from the jar, it came in front of Sarah's face dancing there until it was situated just her glowing hand. It dances lower and lower towards the melting bubbling silver- then the shinning metal got engulfed in the shadow's darkness.  
The light Sarah gave out, causes the shadow to become deeper and blacker.  
  
Sarah sang out a few choice words with the final blinding, light from her soul flickered wildly. A pure light concentrated upon the combined melted silver and blacken shadow.

  
  
It was over.

  
  
Light fades causing things around her to seem darker. Sarah leans over quickly and switches on her lamp and stares at her hand.  
  
The silver and shadow were no longer there. In their place was a beautifully crafted silver with a blue, almost black, line running through it.  
  
A true smile graces her lips, and she picks up the newly formed ring with her fingers, gently turning it over in her hand.

  
  
"It's lovely! A work of art!" Sarah whispers aloud almost in awe, her cheeks went slightly pink at her own self-praise. But she could not help it, it was a fine piece. She places it over her thumb on her left hand and held it close to her face.  
  
Rings smelted in this fashion normally had a couple of abilities, and this one Sarah was going to use for a simple water fuse, nothing too grand, a small 'droplet' would be inserted later. This was just a baseline.  
  
"Now then," Sarah says to herself as she leans back in her seat, "What should I practice on today?"

  
  
Sarah hums softly. Once she had learned that casting continuously could result in a stronger outcome in stats, she began practicing with other things past her limits.

  
  
However, this was by no means to become powerful.  
  
The explanation behind this was simple. Sarah loved learning new thing and improving them caused her heart joy; she pushed her power of light to the limit, while she still could...

  
  
"Pillar of Light? Yeah, why not?" Sarah says with a short nod, leaning backwards she pushes away from the desk a little; she held her hands out before her palms facing the desktop- and instead of calling to the power of 'shadow', she sings to her natural birth element; 'shines'. Tiny orbs of light blink into existence. A yellow glow forms and soon little pillars the size and length of a normal pencil appeared on the table's surface.  
  
Pillar of Light was a strong defence casting. It surrounded its caster with light pillars, sealing them inside until they stopped the casting or their power ran out with a time limit placed on the cast.  
  
This skill was mainly used in battles, and Sarah was a lover, not a fighter, however, her love for learning took her to this side of her gift.

  
  
Sarah grins boldly, the eerily glow of her now twin pillars gave her a sinister look.

  
  
Sarah never dreamt that her thirst for learning, her desire for knowledge would cause the world as she knew it, to become unbalanced.


	2. Discovery Arc: Wishful Request

Sarah leans forward, bringing her face closer to the thick book resting on her knees as she lay in bed with a mountain of pillows behind her. The light of day was fading from the ceiling window.

So places the book more onto her lap she raises her right up a little and summons a ball of light that flickers.

This causes the young woman to stare at it, lifting an eyebrow in question- normally her light shone brightly, enough to make others think it was still daylight hours.

"Aww. This one is good too..." Sarah groans out weakly with a small pout on her lips; quickly bringing her hands to her mouth, she coughs loudly. It makes her small form jerk with each cough.

With a loud gasp at the end of her coughing hit, she leans back into the pillows, letting the book slip further into her lap.

Sarah was sick.

This realization of this had shocked her greatly.

Sarah could heal her own broken bones, could stop her bleeding, could even save her own lift if needed, which were all due to the constant healing of the wounds she suffered.

And yet, she never truly used her healing for common sickness because she rarely has gotten ill from these things.

So how she was hunting through hundreds of books, learning everything she could on healing viruses, bacterium, disease and any other microorganism that made a person sick.

Depending on which path a light healer took, they focused on either the healing of wounds or healing of sickness. These were completely different skills to have and could take a lifetime to master.

With Sarah spending the last eight or more years healing her injuries, she liked to think she had mastered the art of healing any wound.

It was not enough.

"Need more books," Sarah groans out as her chest starts to hurt once more, "need input," she spoke like a robot, saying these words over and over.

"Needs rest. Needs rest." Came a different voice that mimicked her robot tone and causing her to stop.

Turning she blinks with glassy eyes at her grandmother standing in the doorway; the old woman was carrying a tray in her hands, upon it, was a bowl of soup and a glass of water- she skilfully steps over the piles upon piles on books, making her way over to the bed.

"* _Grandma_ " Sarah lets out a long moan as she addresses her grandmother, a pout plays on her lips- the teen wanted to heal herself, however, her research was going slow due to she was not thinking properly... she had to heal and recover the 'normal' way then.

" _Sarah_." The grey-haired woman mimics again, she places the tray carefully on the bedside table and turning, she frowns at the books at the bottom of the bed, "Sarah, please sleep, rest and get well. You want to recover. Sleep will be your friend at the moment."

"...I want to learn," Sarah told her grandmother with a heavy sigh, "Please teach me, Grandma, you were a Healer once."

"No." Corinna Radiance told her granddaughter firmly, she shook her head slowly; reaching over she then closes the book in Sarah's lap, before removing it completely, "There is a reason for this Sarah, my healing and the world's healing are different. Maybe, just _maybe_ , I'll teach you. But! For now, eat this, take those pills. And sleep!"

Corinna starts mumbling under her breath as she began moving the books off the bed.

Sarah stares at the tray, next to the glass was some pills... she hated taking them; leaning over she takes hold of the tray and crossing her legs, settles it on her knees. Once she got it in a position where she knew it would not fall, she spoons it into her mouth... the soup held no taste.

Wiggling her nose Sarah continues eating regardless, knowing that she had not eaten well for the past couple of days. Forcing it down, she notices that her grandmother had sat down on the edge of her bed, blue eyes watched her.

"Have you thought about getting some monsters?" Corinna questions her when she knew she had Sarah's attention, "You cannot always use your light. The shines are not originally used for attacking or defending. And with today's casting, summoning monsters have become easier." the gold woman pauses, "I realize you use your light too much, for this kind of illness to take hold of you. If someone was to attack and you have drained yourself, it will not go well."

Sarah swallows thickly, surprised and panic rising in her heart, she had not known her grandmother had noticed anything.

Sarah had a bad habit of using her whole light when practicing until all her power ran dry.

Three days ago Sarah had formed Pillar of Light a thousand times in a row before falling asleep at her desk.

"And monsters are more freely used nowadays," Corinna went on, she turns and gazes across the room. Books and games were piled up to reach the ceiling, the other side of the room's wall, could not be seen due to the books and scrolls that were everywhere, they were making their way out of the open door and starting to pile just outside her room, "the uses of coins make it so that anyone can use them. Even a child. That was not the case when I was younger."

Sarah continues her light tasteless meal with a smile, she loved it when her grandmother started talking about her past.

"When I was a young woman, perhaps even your age," Corinna began as she eyed up the books some more, "We did not have those coins, we had rocks, large rocks that needed to be crafted out delicately with the casting. One false move could send you into the Phantom Zone, the place where monsters live," the old woman pauses as if in deep thought, "because of these summoning casts were rocks, we could not even carry them around. No," she turns to Sarah and stares at her, "Or had to transfer them. People do not use the Transfer skill for monsters anymore."

"I want to learn." Sarah breaths out, leaning back as she tries to imagine using such a skill.

"From summoning to transferring," Corinna continues seemingly not hearing her granddaughter, "That was why most people needed light bearers back then. No other bearer than light bearers could use Transfer, well maybe dark bearers, but everyone knew that just not as good! And it took longer for the monsters to reach them!"

The old woman raises her left hand, on her index finger was a gold ring which had a round flat surface with some kind of text cut into it. Corinna rubs it with the index finger of her right hand.

"Also if you did not know a light bearer to transfer your monster," Corinna carries on, "Then they had to make their own way to their masters. Only the rich had enough manpower to take their monsters with them, using slaves to cart them around."

"*Grandma," Sarah says removing the tray from her lap and grabbing those hateful pills, she snaps them out of their silver casing, "Can I learn to transfer? And no just monsters."

Corinna gave her an eerie stare.

"...only ten people in history knew how to transfer themselves and others," Corinna told her with a tight smile, "You are strong Sarah, there is no denying this. But still, a child who does not even have her own seal yet."

The old woman and young woman stares at the ring which held Corinna's seal.

"We've been studying them at school!" Sarah told her in excitement, "I had mine done since I was eleven!"

"A seal is very important for casting anything." Corinna told her frowning deeply, "It becomes the heart of bearer's castings when they put their soul on the line. Skills like Transfer and even monster summoning, and I am not speaking about the coins summons, I am talking about the capturing summons, the ones that hunt thought the Phantom Zone and enslave a monster's will; these ones need a seal. You are still using the 'Hikari' and 'Radiance' Family Seal."

Sarah reaches for her glass and sighs, she had both the 'Hikari' Family Seal from her father's family and the 'Radiance' Family Seal from her grandmother, tied around her wrist in thread dipped in oil, one red and the other white, each one had the seal hanging off.

"Sarah. Be careful who you show your power too," Corinna told her looking unhappy, "At the moment, your teacher might think your power is coming from my seal," she nods to the 'Radiance' Family Seal, "it has been known for parents to empower their child's seals to get on better at schools. And given who I am or was... just... please, do not bring unwanted attention to yourself. Enjoy your time without worry."

"..." Sarah fell silent as she places the pills in her mouth, drinking them down with the water and handed the glass to her grandmother; uncrossing her legs, she slowly lowers herself under the covers and was actually able to spread her legs down now that the books had been removed.

Corinna leans over her and pushes back her hair gently from her eyes, smiling lovingly down at her. Sarah returns that smile, her grandmother loved her dearly, she did not have the heart to tell her that she was being bullied mercilessly.

Shines appeared at Corinna's will and her fingertips glowed upon Sarah's forward... the young woman suddenly felt tried and closing her eyes, drifted off into a deep dreamless sleep. 


	3. Discovery Arc: Monster!

Sarah was feeling a lot better but just in case, her grandmother was making her stay home a few days longer- for someone who loves learning it was torture, despite all the bullying she suffers through the breaks and lunch breaks, she loved going there.

The teen blinks, merely staring up at the ceiling for once 'resting' at her own will.

Now that she was well enough to think about it, it was so strange being at home during a weekday. Sarah now found she did not know what to do with herself; normally, it was during the nights when she practiced the larger scale skills- it was also the time when light bearers were at their weakest. Yet now, during the day, she could not do anything due to her low states she was still recovering from.

Which might be a good thing. Since she trained higher skills during the night and was actually strong, she feared what would happen in the light of day when the shines were at the most powerful.

And since she was coming off the basics now, the teachers were starting to see 'improvement' with her practice works just as much as her written work.

Sarah sighs as she gets up and starts to wander around her room. ...she was piling her books up again.

In order to make room, she began piling them just outside her room... again, although, this time placing them in neater and more against the walls.

Her grandmother never complained about the books that blocked the hallways, merely stepping over them carefully. And she kept buying more stuff her, anything Sarah wanted within reason and without question- the 'how to summon the forces of darkness for dummies' book, did get a raised eyebrow though.

'Does Grandma buy me so much to make up for not having my parents?' Sarah wonders to himself, she carries some more out and kneeling down, she sat them next to the wall at the top of the stairs, strengthening them up, "Does she feel guilty?" she mumbles aloud.

Sarah glances down at the seal on her wrist, the light one, of her father's family seal... who she shared a family name with...

Sarah's father and mother died when she was young, perhaps about four years of age but she was not sure.

The pair were attacked because who her grandmother was, or had been.

After saving her granddaughter, Corinna fled with Sarah into a neutral zone. In this place, all kind of bearers and lycanthropes lived in 'peace'- there was still the odd few who would turn their nose up at each other.

Growing up Sarah felt the stares of those around her- they knew who she was and they knew by living in that city they could no harm to her unless they wanted to be kicked out...

Their children found away.

The bullying began when she was eight and steadily got worst over the years.

And yet, it was thanks to this she was so strong with healing wounds.

Sarah thinks about the upcoming classes in her school. Soon there would be mock wars that all bearers and lycanthropes had to take part in. If anything were to happen to her here, it would be glossed over as an 'accident'.

"*...maybe I should think about getting some monsters." Sarah told herself as she stands and wanders away from her room back to the stairs; running down them she pauses at the bottom and listens to her surroundings, trying to hear where her grandmother was.

Not hearing her in the main house, she makes her way to the other part of the building, where their house meets up to a shop.

"Grandma." Sarah calls out as she enters through the doors and blinks when she notices some people talking with her grandmother.

Waving she gained Corinna's attention and points to the front door without saying anything so as not to disturb them, at her grandmother's understanding nod, she leaves.

The store that sold summoned monsters was actually not far from her home. The school did sell them too... but she did not want to decide there, the teachers hung over the students' shoulders giving advice and she just wanted to choose for herself.

As Sarah walks down her own street, she felt the gazes of those around her; she could not help but wonder what if would be like to live outside a neutral zone where everyone lived together according to the same bearer they were... lights with lights and darks with darks, or even in a blank zone, where humans lived who had nothing to bear.

Inside the neutral zone, it was rare for the youth to get word from the outside world that was not given to them by the adults and news networks; all information was watered down in order for them to live here in their own little bubble- if another war started between the light bearers and dark bearers, along with their allies, it was jokingly said that no one would know here.

...Sarah was sure they would know, the adults only claimed this, perhaps to set their children's minds at ease... or their own.

Sarah notices an older woman staring at her without shame; So she stares back until the older woman looks away.

Corinna was known.

It was hard for her not to be known; although being a light bearer, Corinna once served under the dark bearer's leader some 500 years ago- she lived through the Forgotten War.

Sarah went through the sliding doors that opened with a 'swoosh', she gazes around at the display cases filled with coins. She goes over and glances at them, the displayed showed two coins laying side by side, in order to present both sides of the coin. With the image of what kind of monster they were and the bounding and casting circles on the other side.

Professional monster hunters opened portals to the Phantom Zone, bringing a small space to their realm and using the sprites of whatever they bear, they seal the monsters.

Most children think that the coins were what monsters started out like and that they lived inside the coin itself. But actually, once a monster has been marked, they get a coin made of them with the summoning and go back to the Phantom Zone until they are called and returned back once they have finished their given tasks.

There was also paper or card summons, a one time use. It was easier to mark the monster because it was not permanent. Once these monsters returned they had no bound until the next hunter came along.

The coins could be kept in a small black leather pouch that was normally hung on a bearer's belt; this pouch had a cast upon it and was able to keep twenty coins inside without added weight.

Sarah stares at the monsters... she really did not want to enslave the monsters.

'I'd rather be at home reading or playing games...' Sarah thinks to herself as she studies the descriptions of each, half wondering why she bothered coming... then remembers she needed a monster for the Mock War Class and she had been growing bored of moving books around all day. Sarah straightens her back, finishing looking at the coins- she notices that some more people were staring and gives them a sweet smile, most returned and moved on.

'Only taken them fifteen years for them to get used to me.' Sarah thinks bitterly, keeping her smile on her lips as she walks away from this display and over to the next.

Her mind drifted back to a few days ago, 'I want to learn how to heal sickness not just wounds.' Sarah thinks with determination, 'and the Transfer skill... maybe, I can find something in the library? I can always go to the library now. I might at least get an idea of what to look for.'

Sarah turns and moves fully away from the display cases, then goes towards the exit. Then pauses, the bus she needed to get to the library had just past the window.

Rushing out of the doors, she broke out into a flat out run, never taking her purple star eyes off the bus in front of her.

It was too late.

As she reaches the doors, they had closed and the bus pulls away from the curb, driving down the road.

Sarah leans over and puts her hands on her knees, panting hard and trying to catch her breath. 'I..I need to exercise more.' Sarah thinks as she notices the black dots in her vision due to lack of air, 'I may be thin but I'm really out of shape.'

At last, she took a huge intake of breath and rose up, while she breathing a little hard, it was not as heavy as moments ago.

A noise from behind startles her and she spun around quickly.

"Joanna!" Sarah cries out in surprise, "What are you doing here? Ain't you meant to be at school?"

A tall blonde haired teen towers over Sarah, with a slow almost evil grin that showed fangs, golden eyes focused on the much smaller teen. A hand with long painted fingernails reaches out and pats the Sarah's purple hard.

"So are you." Joanna Hancocks responses with a wide grin, she bends over, removing her hand and placing it on her hip, where on the other one, her other hand rested, "What ya doing in these parts?"

Sarah raises a brow, she lived just down the road off one of the side streets and this was a bus stop she comes to all the time.

"Oh. I mean. I saw ya coming from that shop." Joanna explains and lifting a hand she jerks her thumb over her shoulder, gesturing to the store.

"I was thinking about getting a monster," Sarah admits shyly, lowering her head slightly, wondering if Joanna would find this offensive, "...now I'm planning to go to the library."

Joanna's grin drops, although her fangs were still visible- Sarah felt panic rise within her and for a second, she thought the other teen would punch her, instead, she lifts her hand and palms it against her own forehead.

"Sarah!" Joanna cries out in dismay as she shook her head, then dropping her arm to her side, her golden eyes trained on the light bearer once more, "Ya really need to stop reading! It's bad for the brain!"

The tall teen steps forward and out of instinct, Sarah steps back.

Joanna did not care or failed to notice this action.

"Come on," Joanna says placing a hand of Sarah's shoulder and forcing her to move, "Let's go back to that place and get ya a monster, even if it's a small one."

"...sure..." Sarah answers with a small tight smile, she had no idea why one of her former bullies was seemingly being so nice to her but she felt this was a trick of some kind. When again, Joanna had never actually hit her before... right? she had only ever insulted her and even then, the last time that happened had been last year. 

However, Joanna had been acting weird lately and it wouldn't surprise Sarah if her classmate hurt her.

It had happened a few days before she got sick, Joanna and stalked her on the way back from school, she thought it was because of the fresh blood that had been soaking her uniform but she did nothing.

And on the third day of her being sick, Joanna had turned up at her home with some fresh meat- the blonde had told her grandmother that she was a _friend_ of Sarah.

At some point during the walk back to the shop, Joanna had let go and Sarah now trailed behind.

"Joanna, your tail is showing." Sarah says softly with a small grin.

"Yeah, I know," Joanna replies making Sarah look up sharply at first wondering how she had been heard... and she notices the dog-like ears now on top of the blonde's head, "Can't be helped, it's coming up to the full moon."

Sarah nods her head in understanding- every lycanthrope changed during this time.

Joanna faces forward and starts moving once more, she barked at anyone who looked their way, making Sarah snicker. Then her purple stares focused on the tail, it was the reason she thought that the 'were-wolf' would find getting a monster offensive.

Many years ago, the lycanthrope was classed as monsters. They could even be sealed and summoned, however, because of their human intelligence they had gotten the right to be 'human' and was banned from being enslaved.

Joanna stops by the doors and turns to her with an evil smile... but Sarah was just starting to wonder if this was just how she normally looks because her tail was waggling wildly.

"I saw a cute little monster the other day!" Joanna told her and there was true excitement in her voice and Sarah suddenly wonders if she had misjudged the other's actions, perhaps she really does to be friends?

Sarah caught up with the taller teen and stood by her side, "A cute monster?"

"Yeah! It would look better with a cute little thing like you!" Joanna told her with a bold grin flashing more of her fangs and making a few people who were moving pass, gasp at the sight, "Ya got a problem?!" the lycanthrope shouts at them with a growl, turning back to Sarah, "Wouldn't go well with a he-she like me. I'm not cute."

Sarah glances up and down at the taller teen.

"No. You're not cute." Sarah told the lycanthrope bluntly, she always got beat up regardless of what she did or said so she was not one to hold back- notices the tail drop, "But you have more of an elegance thing going on. And I bet if you style that bird's nest of a hair. You wouldn't be the 'he-she' you claim to be."

Joanna stares at her for a moment and then smiles. Then wagging her tail once more, she leads Sarah into the store, over to the far right displays.

'Huh? A scary tomboy who wants to be cute? What is this some kind of story cliches?' Sarah wonders highly amused at her own thoughts, 'Does Joanna want to be 'cute' because of some boy too? Oh please let that be the case.'

While Sarah loved reading about facts and knowledge, she loved dumb love dramas. Or any of drama that did not involve her.

"Here it is!" Joanna's voice broke her out of her thoughts, glancing over she sees what the monster coin was and smiles. It really was a cute thing.


	4. Discovery Arc: Discover!

"So that's how it's done!" Sarah cries out joyfully as she jumps up from the circle of books she had surrounded herself in- the books were new, old and in between.

There were only twenty-eight books on the Transfer skull and was meant to be taught in a more advanced course in only three universities. None of which were in her Zone, so she used her grandmother's name and ordered all the books then studied them endlessly during the nights for the past eight weeks.

Not weekday evening or weekends anymore... because she had finally found a friend.

And it was not the little blob monster with wings that was flying her head- the yellow blob with lighter yellow dots, happily 'sang' as it went. One of the blob's skills was to chance different sizes; it could be as small as a tennis ball or as big as her head, she was not sure if it got bigger than that.

For the past couple of days, she had been trying to Transfer her blob. And at last! she had done it!

Sarah had found out how to Transfer her blob- it lands on top of her right shoulder, humming happily now as its master continues to cheer.

"We did it Sunny!" Sarah told her blob monster she had named 'Sunny', it was actually more common to name the monster coins nowadays; she held out her arms for a hug.

The small monster did not hesitate, it grew in size and hums loudly, then flew into Sarah's waiting arms. It was big enough for her to get her arms around it now; laughing, she rubs her face against the smooth surface of the blob.

Grinning, she pulls away and settles back down in her book circle and reaches for her new phone her grandmother had gotten her when she realized that she really did have a friend- Sarah held it to her ear.

"Joanna? You still there?" Sarah questions down the line and did not wait to listen for her friend's reply before she started talking once more, "It's here! Sunny came! The Transfer skill worked!"

"Great! And wow! Ya actually did it! Nice!" Joanna's voice came through, she sounded pleased for her, "So... What are ya going to do now?"

"Sent it back to your place and then bring it back here... a few times." Sarah answers with a small voice, she was still getting used to the whole 'friendship' thing again... Amy, her 'best friend' from childhood rarely spoke to her anymore, however, Sarah understood, "Is that okay with you?" "Sure." Joanna says and then growls loudly, "Just so long as it doesn't eat my homework again." A loud sigh came, "The one time I actually do my homework and it gets eaten!"

Sarah smiles, when they have become friends, Joanna has been studying and showing up at their classes more... she did not realize that the were-wolf had taken half the classes she suddenly popped up in.

"Sorry about that," Sarah replies and give her friend an apologetic smile, even when Joanna could not see her, "I thought I had it that time, ... didn't think it would have to spend the night. Also, it never eats everything of mine, so that didn't even cross my mind. I've only noticed it's... eating habits..."

"Hope it won't do that again," Joanna grumbles back then sighs, "I'm writing it out again now."

"...well, maybe we should leave it for the night then," Sarah thought aloud to her friend, "At school, we can use the field at the back and see if we can Transfer it without needing our phones."

"Yeah? Well if ya sure," Joanna replies with a growl, Sarah could hear shifting papers in the background and a loud tut followed, "Yeah, that sounds alright. See ya in the morning then. Night."

"Goodnight." Sarah told her friend and click her phone off once she hears the line go end. It had been weird when Joanna suddenly started following her around at school... she was one of the most fearsome creatures to walk the halls and widely known for her mean-spirited nature. Sarah had been right.

Joanna had fallen in love with someone and wanted to get close to Sarah solely to learn how to be 'cute'. The thing was, the stars in her hair and eyes were not a style statement and she was naturally tiny, most light bearers at her age were.

It was not rocket science. Sarah guessed who it was easy.

The up and coming Mock War had them in groups of five. The boy who Joanna liked had teamed up with Sarah, meaning they needed three more.

Becoming friends with Sarah, meant that the small teen quickly offered the space to Joanna.

Ethan a dark bearer, was dubbed 'evil' by those in the school; there were lots of horror stories of him and no one was really sure if they were true or not. He always had his hair over his eyes and tried to talk in a low deep voice. He was taller than some of the teachers in the school, even though he was fifteen like most of the class, and had board shoulders, making him look bigger.

There were even rumours of him having giant's blood in him... Sarah highly doubted this.

For whatever reason, Joanna had fallen for him and seemed to think he likes cute girls because he teamed up with Sarah. The truth of the matter, they paired up without a word to each other, both knowing that no one would join them and made a silent pact.

Joanna had actually managed to make him say a few words- later they discovered that his voice had not quite broken even at his age and it was kind of funny to hear it from this large teen- it was also why he rarely spoke and forced himself to talk deep.

Sarah blinks as her blob moves away from her, breaking her from her musing of the past few weeks- it flys off, humming its happy hum.

It reaches the wall but instead of bumping into it, it melts right through.

"Sunny!" Sarah calls over it, jumping to her feet; she was not really worried, her blob listens well enough to her. But only her, to everyone else, she learnt after the homework incident, that the ball of congealed slime liked to visit her neighbours and was a nightmare to be around; it never respected anything, drop glasses off the side, blocked their sinks and ate their belongings.

'This goes on, I'll have to send it back.' Sarah thinks as she stood out in the hallway, her blob was not in sight.

A small hum was heard and Sarah starts walking to the end of the hallway, coming to the end; now, the only way was up.

Jumping in place the small teen tries to grab the rope that hung down- she held up on this quickly in favour of walking back down the hallways and grabbing the chair she had been using the stand on when she was piling up her books.

Carrying it over she places it under the rope and stood on it. Then she jumps and manages to get a hold of the rope and pulled it down. As she pulled and unfolds the step ladders that were connected to the ceiling came down with the trapdoor.

Sarah's room was technically the attic of the building. But there was another place, a tower-like room that rose up at the front of the building, just over their shop.

Climbing the ladder she glances through the gloom, the whole place was cover in a thick layer of dust. Coming further on up she moves towards the sounds of the gently humming.

Sarah frowns slightly when she stares at the white marble coloured box that was the size and shape of a coffin. Going nearer she recognizes some of the old written wording on the sides. As she studies the old writings, she grew nervous.

There were a lot of protections covering the wooden floor, the walls, ceiling and even windows of this small attic.

The noise of power nipped at her mind and she knew this was the shines' work but there was something else underlining inside it.

Sunny was sitting on the box, just staring at her.

"Don't worry..." Sarah told her monster as she walks closer, more to comfort herself than Sunny, "This is my Grandmother's power."

Of course, Sunny looked anything but worried, its eternal smile on it's 'face' never changed and it seemed to be staring at her, almost like it was waiting for something.

Sarah purple eyes went back to the walls and studied more keenly.

'Could this be something for the Forgotten War?' Sarah wonders to himself- excitement starts to bubble up within her heart, overriding her fear.

The writing looks to be ancient Aktinovolía that was from 5000 years ago, however, light bearers still used this ancient script 1000 years ago- the older the writing, the stronger the casting.

It was why Sarah studied the five ancient scripts- or wanted to, so far she had mastered ancient Aktinovolía and now moved onto ancient Obscurité.

Ancient Aktinovolía came from the first light bearers' civilization and ancient Obscurité came from the first dark bearers' civilization.

It made sense that her grandmother would use ancient Aktinovolía castings during that period... some nine hundred years ago when she was a young woman.

The Forgotten War happened in the heart of Cynbel, during the start of the rule of the young dark king, King Éber.

King Éber still rules over the dark bearers to this day; like light bearers, they have long life spans; however, it was thought that anyone who was directly involved with the Light Fountain that overtook the land, no one had actually aged.

King Éber and his court still looked like youths, their time stopped in their early twenties.

And like everyone else, King Éber could not remember the war, not even who started- they knew it lasted a hundred years before coming to a stop.

With no real questions, everyone placed the blame on a person that they could not remember, a person who was a shadowy image in everyone's memories.

They called this person; 'The Forgotten One'

It was told that if anyone does remember the name of 'that' person, then it would bring about the end of the world.

"How stupid," Sarah says with a bold grin, she walks forever and kneels down in front of the box, "What can of casting would it take to bring about the end of the world?"

Sarah wanted to know, her love for history and knowledge made her seek out for the name 'The Forgotten One' with a great zeal... and yet, no one could remember, only certain events or slight feelings when something brushes against their memories.

Taking a deep breath, Sarah places both hands upon the lid of the box, then lift it up.

The protective cast on the boxes meant nothing to her- ever since she was young, she had used her power to unseal unreadable books, so much like her healing abilities, she was strong and it started to happen without a casting.

As the lid opens, a bright light shone out causing Sarah to blink against it- it did not blind her, because light could not harm light bearers' sight unless it was from another, more powerful than them.

Blinking some more, Sarah's eyes widen and her mouth parts slightly- she could hardly believe what she was seeing. Then, a slow smile graces her lips.


	5. Discovery Arc: Soul Key!

"Sarah!" Corinna cries out loud, causing Sarah to gasp- she jumps and closing the lid fast, then spinning around she blinks at the sight of her angry grandmother marching her way.

"Grandma!" Sarah greets in surprise, then lowers her head, knowing she was in the wrong, "...sorry..."

"'Sorry'?" Corinna parrots at her, staring at her dead in the eyes, "Do you even know what you are apologizing for?" she questions when she reaches her granddaughter, hovering over her with hand on hips.

The old woman takes her eyes off Sarah, gazes at the marble box and sighs loudly.

"I do now..." Sarah admits with ashamed expression, although a smile was still tugging at her lips from finding something so rare and important, "I knew that were would be something inside from your days in Cynbel- but I never thought it would be _that_!" she adds quickly.

Corinna looks back to her granddaughter, the child had grown into a powerful light bearer and was only getting stronger. Of course, she blames herself, in olden times bearers break up their bloodlines with blank humans, or weaker ones, because when two pure bearers of the same kind have a child with outstanding strength.

A strength that could rip apart their fleshly body and kill the soul.

Corinna knew well that strong bearers would appear during the fourth generation of pures; her own father and mother were both pure light bearers and her grandfather was a light bearer too.

Then there was Corinna's husband, one of the greatest light bearers of his time. When their only daughter was born a strong bearer, she explained to her that she must never marry another with light.

Two hundred years ago, her daughter returned from her travels, with a light bearer man, she requested to marry with the promise of never having a child.

Corinna's husband Ethan, allowed this, trusting his daughter's words- he died before it happened.

Sarah was an 'accident'.

And being one so strong, Corinna thought the infant would not live to see their first birthday- feeling great pity for her granddaughter, she wanted to lessen the pain by pouring thousands upon thousands of shadows into her from the Light Soul Key.

The same Light Soul Key Sarah had just discovered.

Corinna came forward and opening the lid, she saw down at the item that shone brightly.

She had once possessed this powerful tool, however, she had already given ownership over to Sarah when she was eight days told... it felt like the right time.

"Sarah, would you like to learn to use this?" Corinna questions, she turns and smiles at her granddaughter's surprised face, "I can teach you, however, with this you would be its guardian."

"I understand!" Sarah cries out balling her hands into fists as her excitement took over, she even started shaking, "I know all about the Nine Soul Keys. Why they were made, what they mean to the dark bearers, whey they had to be scattered and why Éber court had to leave."

"Why King Éber's court had to leave, huh?" Corinna repeats with a sad smile, "Sarah, no one remembers what happened beginning of the war to understand why we needed to break away at the end. Most of the start of King Éber's reign, no one can even recall, or events leading up to his coronation. We no longer knew who was the enemy. As a light bearer, I was the first to leave the court."

"Mmm." Sarah lets out a long draw out hum after she listened to this, taking everything her grandmother said; then she spoke with glee, "It's a mystery waiting for someone to unlock."

"Sarah," Corinna snaps with a clear warning in her voice, a deep frown appears on her old face, "Have you seen the writings of that period? The mention of 'The Forgotten One' that should fill those spaces, is blurred over until someone remembers. Do not try and found out, just focus on the Key for now."

"Yes, yes!" Sarah says quickly, her excitement showing once more.

"You know what a 'sub-space' is right?" Corinna questions as she closes the box and takes a seat on it with Sarah settling more comfortably, on the floor in front of her.

"'Sub-spaces' sometimes called 'inventories' are forces that are the 'in-between', bearers can place objects in this 'space', " Sarah answers smiling at her grandmother who nods, "Sub-spaces were mainly used by Hunters, Adventurers and Heroes in the past. A little over two thousand years ago, only light, dark, air and water bearers knew how to make these sub-spaces slash inventories bags."

Sarah pauses to think, she had studied sub-space not long ago because she was very interested in getting a couple to store some of her books inside.

"Normally. These bags have limited space, most common ones can have up to twenty to forty items in," Sarah continues she recalls some of the prices she had seen online, "...depending on how much money you have, smelting sub-spaces items is big business and it takes a lot of time and power to do. Some designed the bag and have become a way to show off one's wealth."

Sarah stops and stares at her grandmother, it seemed she was waiting for her to say something else... the teen could not think of more to add.

"Oh! And the leather coin belts!" Sarah quickly says when she remembers, patting the leather belt on her hip, "This is a different kind of sub-space. Because metals have limited space inside most common inventories, up to five or six, and can be heavy. But the coin belts can have twenty metal coins."

Corinna nods her head as her granddaughter spoke, pleased that she was so well informed.

"Sarah," Corinna whispers softly and leans over as she was about to reveal all, "Have you heard of the Soul Room before?"

Sarah blinks at the questions.

"People say it's a myth," Sarah answers then glances at the box then back at her grandmother, "But it was rumoured that the Soul Keys were able to open the doors of the Soul Rooms, no one knows if this is true. And all the users refuse to speak. The only Soul Key that's in the public eye, is the one that King Éber has. The Dark Soul Key. Then others got lost in time."

The pair sat in silence for a moment, until Corinna smiles.

"The Soul Key can indeed, open the Soul Room," Corinna told her as she plays with one of her pigtails that rest on her shoulder, "It can also be used as a sub-space," a grin appears on the old woman's face, "Much, much more than any normal sub-space. Which each new owner, the Key will have a new Room. Also, more Rooms can be created. It takes some bit of power though."

"That means..." Sarah says aloud, understanding what her grandmother wanted to use the ancient tool for.

"Yes, once you learn how to fully use the Soul Key," Corinna said laughing a little, "We can shove all your games, books and junk inside your very soul! Then I can have my house back. I tripped twice in the hallway you know."


	6. Discovery Arc: Drained!

" _whoa._ " Was the first words out of Joanna's mouth when she went over to greet her friend, "Sarah, what the hell? Ya look kinda... well, dead."

"I can assure you I'm alive." Sarah mumbles out softly, glad she did not have to raise her voice thanks to Joanna's super hearing; she sat at her desk, doubled over with her chin resting on top, one arm was hanging down alongside her body, almost touching the floor, her other arm was laying on across the desk, with her hand flopping off the edge.

Pushing back in the chair slightly, she sits up and brings both arms in front of her, then using them as a pillow- she turns to look at her friend.

Dull eyes without their normal shine peer out, she stares at the werewolf, her expression was void of any emotion.

"So..." Joanna starts feeling uncomfortable with that lifeless stare, "Want to talk about it."

"I told you about my sub-spaces I making," Sarah said her voice was just as lacklustre as her eyes, "I tired because of that."

"You're in the money if you master that!" Joanna says out loud, almost in a cheer. The second 'pips' sounded and the teacher walked through the door, calling for everyone to get to their seats.

Sarah gazes over to the teacher, he starts name-calling.

'Sorry Joanna,' Sarah thinks with a tired smile, "I can't tell you that I'm learning how to you the Soul Key!'

The Souls Keys were created to act as wands for chosen members of the Dark King's court. They not only focused and sharpened their existing power but also held them control over sprites that they did not bear- wands were rarely used in this day and age, only history nerds and Elders used them now. 

Over the past month, Sarah and her grandmother had been working overtime and had taken the 'transfer' skull a bit of a back seat in favour of learning this.

It was the reason for her lifeless mood and reactions. Because she made for herself, a new room next to her main Soul Room.

And it took up a lot of power, draining her of her light- which her grandmother was happy about.

Sarah was actually pleased that no one had hurt her since becoming friends with Joanna. When one older boy came over and pushed her into a wall, the fierce werewolf went charging at him.

Thanks to that, she really would concentrate on her learning and not worry about using her light on her wounds- it went to using the Light Key now.

'Now that I think about it," Sarah thinks slowly taking out her textbook for the first class, "It's not normal for people to use their power until it's almost gone." she mumbles under her breath.

Sarah always works her power until she ran dry, over and over. Her Pillar of Light was now as big as herself, her smelting was top notch and her Mirror Guard was amazing.

After a good night's rest, she was still exhausted but since she rarely used her light at school, he gives her some time to recover until the next night- this was going to change soon. Going into the next term of school meant the Mock War class was going to start.

There was another added to the list now. One skill with the Key Soul took hours worth of power.

'My light is like a muscle,' Sarah reminds herself while closing her sore eyes, 'It will get stronger with use. And strong enough to use it all night... but right now I feel like I'm carrying weights around...'

Sarah had the Key Soul with her, it was actually inside the Soul Room; she did not think it was possible to do this, even her grandmother had been surprised at this.

'I want to take it out,' Sarah thinks as she began only half-listening to the lesson, 'It feels like it's draining me rotten.'

Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder, turning she sees her teacher staring at her with a frown.

"Miss Hikari, gather your things. I would like to see you outside please." The teacher asks and then moves towards the front of the room.

Confused she stands and grabs her stuff together, throwing them inside her bag- walking towards where the teacher was waiting, she gazes over to Joanna in questions.

The blonde gave her a grin and a thumbs-up just as she swung her bag over her shoulder and leaves the room with the teacher, which only confused her more.

"Miss Hikari," The teacher began as he closes the door, "Do you know why you're out here?" Sarah shook her head, "You are one of my best students, so when I see you half asleep at your desk, it's something to take note of. Miss Hancocks has just informed me you are not well again."

"Joanna did?" Sarah says dully, causing her teacher to have a worried frown.

"Yes. Please make your way to the nurse's office and get a note to sign," The teacher orders lightly, handing a hall pass over to her, "I want you to go home and rest. Miss Hancocks and Miss Agua have already said they would take notes for you. And for Miss Hancocks to willingly offer something like this, that I know something is wrong."

"I understand, thank you." Sarah answers politely and nods her head. The teacher turns to the door and opening it he walked through. She could hear him shouting, letting them know that he had returned.

Sarah stares for a moment and with a sigh, opens a 'window' in front of her that only she could see- she removes her bag from her shoulder and tosses it into the room that held all her belongers now.

All the side of the 'window' there was a bow that held all the names of the items inside as well as some detail about them. It seemed that it was connected to her and base on her own knowledge- the more she knew of an object, the more detail would appear in the description box.

Sarah turns and starts making her way down the hallway, towards the nurse's office.

Sarah kept the window open, it had followed her as she turned, always staying in her field of vision no matter which way she turned her head- she could move it out of the way if desired.

The teen allows her sense to wander over his soul room and the window makes moving, displaying the main room. There were new plain doors coming off some of the walls where he was building still.

The new room was overly big, it was in the form of her favourite library she went to as a child. To create a room one needed a good image and control. Soon she would be able to place things inside, for now, she only could place small items in her main soul room, the new was still plain and held nothing inside.

Suddenly Sunny floats pass her window making her pause for a moment and then carry on with a smile on her lips.

The blob no longer returns to the Phantom Zone, the world from where it was summoned. Sarah had been so surprised to discover this, the little blob had just done this on its own.

Glancing past the window Sarah notices she was outside the nurse's office. Sighing lightly, she brought her senses back and closes the window down, then reaching for the handle she felt the need for sleep suddenly. 


	7. Discovery Arc: Mock Moon!

The dreaded day had finally arrived.

Sarah fell to her knees, panting heavily, she glances all-around- she could only stare into the darkness.

Shaking she tries to regain control of her breathing, she could hear the distance voices and shouts that were coming from all across the gloomy graveyard- each sound seemed to echo too, making it, even more, harder to bear.

Once she had regained her breath she rose to her feet and races forward; as she went her head kept turning to the left and then right, trying to see where the next attack would come from.

A noise made her halt in her tracks and it was suddenly there, towering over her while growling out loudly.

With a loud gasp, Sarah raises her raised hand close to her chest and pressed her two index fingers and thumbs, together in front of her, while spreading the rest of her fingers outwards- then she did a swiping push out with her hands like this, raising her hands up.

Sarah's Mirror Guard appears in front of her just as the giant claw slams down mere inches from her face- Mirror Guard mirrored the stats of the attack while raising a guard around her. The force of the creature's own blow was returned on the beast that had attacked her, sending it flying backwards and landing hard on the ground.

'Why do we need this stupid class?!' Sarah's mind screams at her, she turns and starts running again, her breathing coming out in sharp gasps, 'What's the point?! It's not like we're at war! And another-'

She evades a new attack, falling hard on her side- she felt a crack on her ribs when she landed on the stone just beneath grass.

Bringing up her right hand and pointing her index and middle finger to new monster someone had summoned, a small glow appears and a glow around the beast appears as well.

"Circle Chains!" Sarah hisses out, a circle of light forms fully under it, chains sprung out wrapping the monster and keep it from moving. She leaps up, darts away and drives behind a large tome stone, trying to catch her breath once more- it was starting to become painful on her lungs.

Over the past few months of becoming Joanna's friend, Sarah had been training her body to be ready for this class... it did not go as planned, she still needed a lot more work. She lacks the motivation to get up every morning for her bike ride or jogging, as well as other training, even with her friend's help to encourage her.

Finally, she was breathing evenly and sighing up she wipes the sweat from her brow; some of her purple hair was sticking to it, even if most of it was pulled back in a tight bun.

Joanna appears in front of her, so sudden that Sarah opens her mouth and screams... no sound came out, this strange low airy noise.

This causes Joanna to raise an amused eyebrow, to which Sarah glares at once she clicks her jaws shut.

"Haha, sorry Sarah," Joanna says in a low voice, not sounding 'sorry' at all, "ya alright?"

"No, not really." Sarah answers, she leans forward slightly and held her chest, feeling her heartbeat fast, "Why? Why these classes? We are in a time of peace right?!"

"They seem to think that the dark king is gonna come out and get his revenge," Joanna replies with a shrug, she raised up slightly, placing her hands on the cold tombstone and peeks over it, "or something like this."

"We're in a neutral zone!" Sarah says with a groan, rubbing her dirty hands all over her face as she tries to calm and collect herself, "Why would any bearers attack this city?! There's no point!"

"Well from what I hear, that dark king is a psycho." Joanna said with a snort, in the dim light Sarah could see her friend smirking and her human ears actually moving around, "You know ya history better than me, you should know that."

"King Éber has not made a move against someone for the last three hundred years!" Sarah snap, her fear getting the better of her; she could feel her ribs healing even without any casting, "And my Grandma knew him! She said he is not the type to attack at random."

Joanna was no longer paying attention. Sarah huffs out and frowns.

"Why do we have to do these things on the new moon?" Joanna hisses out angrily, glaring at an unknown thing over the other side of the tombstone, "We weres are at our weakest!"

"*light bearers are at their weakest at night." Sarah points out as she stands, coming behind her friends she looks to see what glaring at.

"Ya can fix that for me, right." Joanna says with a slow smirk- this was not a question, after becoming friends with a werewolf Sarah decided to learn a couple of new tricks in order to aid and buff her.

Closing her purple eyes, Sarah claps her hands together, then laces her fingers through each other. With a sudden jerk, she threw her arms into the black moonless sky above and releases her fingers.

"Mock Moon!" Sarah shouts out at the top of her lungs casting the power away from herself- balls of light forms in front of her chest, they rose following along her arms and gathered into a bigger ball of light. Then it shot upwards, a trail of light coming off it; it lit up the entire area. A silvery glow of a fake full casts its light upon the graveyard before.

Joanna let out a loud cheer as she bathes in the light of this fake moon, her body starting to swift.

Sarah could hear the others from his class that was also lycanthropes shouting out joyfully at this- that was the only problem with 'Mock Moon', it would help though around her.

Including the 'enemies'.

The class was actually against another class, but each class had their own groups that had to stick with. For Sarah group, it was just her, Joanna and Ethan...

Sarah smiles at the light as she lowers her arms, glad that she could actually see with tripping over everything. The 'Mock Moon' would continue to shine until she recalls it or leaves its light.

Sarah blinks, Joanna had already left... so she starts jogging forward, she could see some of the 'enemies' or the other class moving up ahead. And glancing around, she notices that the rest of his classmates were moving forward with the lycanthropes in the lead with the bearers backing that up and buffing them.

Sara needs to get to the 'home base' fast, she was not a fighter as she always told her classmates, yet they made her stay on the backlines to start with. Even if this was because she wrote down she had healing ability.

Sarah creeps past the other class without them noticing her and manages to get to 'home base' but never passes the safety line. She wanted to wait for everyone else, if she crossed a timer would start and there were still lots behind- something her classmates were just starting to recognize, she always done with was good for everyone.

Sarah sees a signal by her form captain: 'Get across! Grab the flag!'

Sarah rushes behind a tombstone when an 'enemy' came close.

'I should get myself another summoned monster,' Sarah ponders over her choices, she turns and could see her class's flag blowing in the wind, '...Sunny won't be able to protect me and these classes will get harder in the future. I need more attacks too. Rather than just defence and buffs.'

The 'war' classes only begin in high school, in the second part of the school year. In the first half, while the first years are training and preparing for it, they make a flag which would stay with them the four years of high school.

Sarah's class flag was a deep brown colour with a yellow spot in the centre; the reason for this was due to more than half the students in her class were lycanthropes.

Sarah suddenly falls and lands hard on her stomach, twitching around she sees a grass monster holding both her ankles with grassy vines that cut into her flesh like hundreds of papercuts. It hisses at her, a smirk seemed to appear in its lone visible eye.

Kicking and wiggling, Sarah cries out when it refusing to let her out of the painful grip it had on her.

Sarah groans out, closing her eyes tightly as tears start streaming down her cheeks.

Suddenly someone was there, she could sense it. Someone was there and they were watching her.

"Sarah!" Joanna growls out, a golden and grey-furred werewolf appears and bites at the creature, so small that the grass monster was completely taken into their powerful jaws and was chopped in half.

Half of the monster separates and drops to the ground with green ooze dripping from it- Joanna spat out the rest of it. The vines around Sarah went loose.

Sarah was free! Kicking the remaining vines she jumps to her feet and turns all the way around, then glancing up at the fake moon, she made, she swore she could see a pair of smiling eyes staring at her- they quickly fade...

Joanna was suddenly by her side, wrapping her in a large fluffy hug- she had already towered over her in a human form, in her wolf form, she was even bigger. Sarah smiles and hugs her friend back, the wounds on her legs were already healed.


	8. Discovery Arc: Let's Talk

"Elf Warrior," Sarah says softly, staring at her newest summoned monster- it was tall, taller than any adult she had seen before. But right now the monster was down on one knee, holding his right hand in a fist over his heart, and he was staring straight into Sarah's eyes.

Elves were one of the creatures in the Phantom Zone that had they own civilizations and culture- no human had ever tried learning their language; it was rumoured that the elves had picked up on the human language and when they returned, taught other for when they get captured.

The elves seemed to have a vow of silence since about two hundred years ago. This gave humans the excuse that these creatures were barbarians. When they were summoned 'monsters' they held no right as an intelligent creature.

Once upon a time, the lycanthropes were the same, creatures brought over from the Phantom Zone and stayed- of course, this happened thousands of years ago and this was never confirmed, lycanthropes claim it was so the humans could enslave them again.

There were other theories on now the lycanthropes came to be here.

Joanna frowns at the monster with the pointy ears, she circles it once, twice, three times and then walks over to where Sarah sat on the cold steps, "But he's such a lower class monster with that level, are ya sure he's gonna be enough to protect ya?"

"I'm sure he'll do fine," Sarah answers turning to her friend with a tight smile, she notices the slight twitch in the monster's eyes when Joanna had said that, making her think that the rumours of elves knowing human languages were true, "I am no fighter, so his role is to protect me during war class and help me get to the end. And I'm sure his level with raise with time."

"Hmph!" Joanna snorts through her nose, turning and glaring at the school building behind them, "Why can't they let lycanthropes have monsters too? ...well, I know they let second years have them. Don't seem fair!"

Sarah rolls her eyes, she had heard this since the last class. Standing she steps towards her Elf Warrior.

"You can return now, I will summon you when we go into 'war'." Talking to the elf as if he was a human, or respected as one- she held out her hands and a circle appears under the creature, the elf drops his blonde head, letting the power was over him and he vanishes, "Joanna."

"Yeah what?" Joanna asks, as she stops glaring and cursing at the school.

"Could you not call my monsters lower class." Sarah asks coming over to stand beside her, "I think all monsters have their strengths, it's only humans who put ranks on them."

"Huh? Oh sure, I don't care." Joanna says not taken offence, she really did not see it as a big deal.

"Thank you!" Sarah replies with a bright smile, then clapping her hands together when she remembers something, "Oh! the next monster I'm getting is a golem. It's a stone one. Rock hard, used mainly for defence. That should keep me safe as well."

"Sounds good!" Joanna agrees, she took a couple of steps and flops down on the stairs Sarah had just sat on, "How is that transfer skill coming along? And are ya still smelting sub-spaces?"

"Very well." Sarah answers with a joyful laugh, "You noticed I am not so tired? My power is growing stronger by the day."

"Really? That's great! You're in the money!" Joanna says with excitement, then pointing to herself, "Just don't forget your friend over here, remember if you start your own sub-space business, I want to work for ya."

"Sure no problem," Sarah says grinning madly at this, she could smelt in her sleep now and sub-spaces was one of the things she was getting good at now.

"Ya going right home today?" Joanna asks, she stood takes out her phone and glances at her clock on the screen, then bending down she picks up her bag and returns the phone to her pockets, "I have to be somewhere, see you later."

"Yeah, bye Joanna, have a nice weekend!" Sarah says with wave, she watches her friend start running towards the back gate of the school. Smiling happily she turns and starts making her way towards the front gate.

As she went along her mind starts to drift onto her project.

'Everything is in...' Sarah thinks in disbelief. She had done it, all her books and scrolls were now on the shelves of the second largest room of her Soul Room.

Every time she had added a room, or placing something in or out, she became like a zombie- her soul had to calm and grow used to this new addition.

Her board games, history collections and other collections she made were to one side of her main soul room, she had been making a storeroom and a display room of sorts.

Having just adjusted to it today, she was planning to move these into their new rooms.

The thing about her going into her Soul Room was she could also send her true body there as well. So she disappeared between the dimensions- a marker was placed where she left the world and she always had to return to that place on exiting.

Sarah had mastered the transfer skill, practising with her blob monster- she could send it to places she herself had been, or if she looks upon a map and judging the distance, she could send it there as well.

The next thing she wanted to do was, try and transfer herself, which was _very_ risky; only five light bearers had transferred themselves and was recorded successfully- for the many others who failed this, it was not a pretty sight.

"Sarah!" Came a sweet voice from behind, smiling Sarah turns to see her oldest friend and secret crush. Although, they had not spoken much since entering high school... even when they were in the same class.

Amy Agua had very long blue hair and dazzling honey brown eyes, she was raised to be a lady and had the posture and manners to match.

"Amy!" Sarah happily greets, nodding to her as she came near, "I'd thought you would have gone home already."

"No," Amy replies looking suddenly shy, which was odd, she normally oozes with confidence, "I wanted to talk with you. Could we go somewhere a little more... private?"

Sarah's heart did a funny flip and she felt her cheeks grow warm.

"...sure," Sarah said quickly, she glances around at where they were, they were on the side path leading up to the front gates, although there were not that many people around at this hour, most in their clubs or already left the school ground, "Let's got to your workplace?"

"How about the park outside the station?" Amy asks looking more and more unsure of herself with each passing second. "Okay let's go there then," Sarah answers, together they walked on in silence. 'Wonder what she wants to talk about?'


	9. Discovery Arc:  Agreement...

Sarah sat pouting epically, this killer move still failed to prevent her friend from rolling up with laughter. Sighing loudly, she turns her head away from the scene and frowns deeply along with her pout, it was still no good, Joanna was having a laughing fit that no one was able to stop!

"That's enough or I'll have Calixtus summoned and stick you with his sword!" Sarah threatens loudly, knowing that her monster would do this too and so did Joanna.

During their war class her Elf Warrior, as she named Calixtus, trod on Joanna's paw- it was clear to Sarah that this had been no accident; while Calixtus's face always was free from expression, she saw the movements.

Joanna, at last, got the message and slows down until she was just giggling.

"So you thought she was asking you out," Joanna says through her snickers, "And! you agreed to it before she finished telling ya what she really wanted."

"Yes," Sarah replies folding her arms over her chest, leaning back into her new blue beanbag, "I think we've established this."

"Yeah, it doesn't sound like something ya would agree to." Joanna says with a sigh and huge grin, she was sitting on the floor crossed legs and holding her ankles, "Who is their right mind would want to go outside this protected area? And ya being the granddaughter of a former Priestess of the Dark King of the dark bearers. Crazy!"

"Not many outside know about me," Sarah points out with a light sigh, she glances around her neat and tidy room, free from her stuff- it was so strange to actually being able to see the carpet, "Just a handful of people. I don't think that the king even knows his former servant had a child or even got married. I am more in danger here where people know me and her."

"...why is she even going outside?" Joanna asks with a frown appearing, her laugher completely faded.

"It's only for the summer," Sarah says quickly, she glances around her room once more, unable to believe it- she had green walls..., "And it's for meeting the darker bearers's king. The dark bearers are coming near here, they have a large city under them on the seaside."

"Again, why does she want to go outside?" Joanna says once more, frowning deeper, "Amy is a water bearer, right? Are water bearers allies with dark bearers?"

"Yeah, that's right." Sarah answers with a smile, "Dark, water and earth are allies. Light, fire and air are allies." she snorts loudly, "You should know this, it's the basic." Joanna rolls her eyes at her words, "Also, Amy's family are big supporters of the Dark King and they want him to rule as the light bearers do. He's basically let them go what they want since the Forgotten War. But they don't have any direction because of it. Or at least, that's what Grandma says."

Sarah blinks, Joanna suddenly looks sad.

"What's wrong?" Sarah questions her friend.

"So... ya really going?" Joanna utters out grumpily, her shoulders dropping, "Meaning we don't get to hang out? Our first summer as friends..."

"...I'm sorry... I already agreed," Sarah says with a sigh and found she really was sorry, she had wanted to do so much over the summer break, practice transfer in her room, go to the woodlands Joanna wanted to show her, "I've not been outside since my parents died..."

"Wait! Light bearers and dark bearer don't get on." Joanna points out suddenly, eyeing her up, "What are ya going to do about that? They'll sense ya a mile off."

"I've been thinking about that actually!" Sarah says with a sudden grin, she leans forward, causing Joanna to lean closer to, "and I need your help."

"Huh? What's that?" Joanna questions with a humourless smile, "...should I be worried?"

"I want your help to catch as many shadows as we can." Sarah explains, she smiles giggles when she sees Joanna's eyebrow lift so high that they hid under her fringe, "I'm going to 'smelt' them together into a cloak, enough shadows to hide my light."

"Sarah, do ya know how many shadows that's gonna be?" Joanna asks her in shock, "Ya light shine pretty bright, even I can sense it and I'm no bearer. I could take all summer just to collect them!"

"What about your contacts?" Sarah asks, leaning back into her beanbag, it was an afterthought but she notices Joanna shift slightly where she sat on the floor, looking unsure about this, although, she was clearly thinking about it.

"My contacts?" Joanna said with a sigh, the 'contacts' were actually those from her parttime jobs, she might not seem like it but Joanna was a hard worker and had a lot of people own her favours more than twice or willing to give a good price, "Ya will probably get either too strong for us to handle or not strong enough for the prices we pay," she explains with another sigh, "What do ya think? Still want to go for it?"

"Well, if I don't I'll never be able to go with Amy, she's counting on me," Sarah told her firmly, knowing that whatever happens Joanna would respect her choices.

"Sure whatever," Joanna mumbles out, looking up at the ceiling shaking her head; Sarah cheers, smiling brightly she jumps off her beanbag and leaps at her friend, giving her a big hug.


	10. Discovery Arc: Helpers and Pests

The summer has begun.

It had been steadily getting warmer over the weeks and it was nice to be any to enjoy it with being stuck into the classic when thirty others who did not want to be there.

Sarah was dressed in black shorts with a pink tank top, she had black and purple hiking boots with red socks- she did not bother with a bag since she mainly used her subspace. Inside was lots of jars to capture and seal the shadows in, she was glad that Joanna did not know much about subspaces, or else, she would have asked how her friend could carry of many jars.

Sarah climbs over a fallen trunk and raises her head up, Joanna was moving ahead, not even weighted down with the large hiking rucksack on her back, the gentle clicking of the jars could be heard.

It was strange to see her friend out of her school uniform, they normally hung out classes and even on weekends, they wore their uniform. Mainly because Sarah had not much to wear, she cared little about fashion and did not see the point of it.

However, she had taken a liking to anything with stars on them lately, something that she never dreamt she would like. The stars in her hair and eyes had caused her so much grief over the years, that she thought she would hate them.

Joanna had a different problem, it was not about not liking fashion, it was just that she was so poor that she could not afford anything new.

Currently, the werewolf was wearing dark green shorts that had been cut midthigh, an orange t-shirt that had been bunched together in the front and tied around the opening. The sleeves had been also bunched together and tied at the back. Joanna did not even bother with any footwear, walking bear on the forest's ground.

Sarah smiles at the sound of the birds that was filing the forest's air, the sunlight would barely get through the treetops and cast them in shadows with the warmth of the rays brushing against them.

The sound of their footsteps and the clicking of the jars in Joanna's rucksack gave her the impression that they were the only ones in this place.

Joanna turns back and on seeing her she smiles, the werewolf had cut her hair shorter. Sarah felt a little bit jealous over that.

Sarah's hair was cursed or blessed, depending on the viewpoint.

The stars that tattooed her hair were meant to keep her hair one length, so even if she cut them, they would grow back the next day- this was something to do with honour during the war and for a light bearer to have their hair cut, was a huge insult. It was one of the many reasons they had this technique.

Sarah blinks and stares ahead, Joanna had paused and was waiting for her.

Sarah smiles her thanks, she had gotten a lot healthier since becoming Joanna's friend. And could now run the length of the 'war zone' without her lungs screaming at her.

If she had done this same hike last year, she doubted she would have gotten this far.

"Where did ya get all these jars from anyway?" Joanna questions as Sarah takes out her water bottle, "And who placed the seal on? Doesn't cost a lot?"

"Grandma's hobby is pottery." Sarah explains after taking a gulp, "She even sells them in our shop."

"Wait. Those are from her?" Joanna asks with a frown, tilting her head as if thinking deeply on something, "But ya shop sells secondhand stuff. If the jars and pots there are made by her, then that's not secondhand."

Sarah giggles at this, "We can basically sell anything we want. Grandma actually sells some of my castings, smelts and seals there too. You bought that fairy trap last week. I made that."

Joanna's eyes widen, "That's- You made that!?"

"I told you I could give it to you for free." Sarah told her friend with a grin, "But you kept saying 'no'."

"Huh? Oh. Haha! Yeah," Joanna says with a snort, then grinning her fangs, "Best fairy trap I ever got! Those little pests didn't know what hit them!"

"Thanks." Sarah says pleased, her cheeks redden at the praise, "If you need any more just say. You know I like to do things over and over until I get it perfect."

"Ya do that and I'll start selling them around." Joanna told her with an 'evil' grin, "Then maybe I can get some clothes that fit!" she tugs at her t-shirt, "My brother keeps complaining!"

Sarah smiles, her friend works hard differently from her. While Sarah studies and practices non-stop to gain power and knowledge, Joanna has different parttime jobs. Only in the mornings, a couple of days on the weekday and one that last all of Sunday. She even thanks her older brothers when they ask.

"Once we get some money, we'll go and buy some clothes together." Sarah told her with a smile, "Perhaps we can get a stall at the market. Grandma would mind me selling there. The only reason there's only so many at the shop because she told me to give her a limited number."

Joanna looked excited at this news, she grins boldly, she seemed to wait to say something but stops- then points behind Sarah's head.

Sarah turns and blinks, moving along in the shadows was a sprite.

"I think that's a gust." Sarah answers narrowing her eyes, "a shadow wouldn't be out in the open. and gusts appear during certain times of the day."

"Gusts are for air bearers." Joanna mumbles with a nod, "shadows for dark, droplets for water, flames for water, gravel for earth and shines for light."

"That's right," Sarah says with a nod, she held her hands in front of her chest and ball of white-hot light appears, "Inside of each bearer is their element, the sprites want this and in return for it, they will do certain tasks. The shines want my light. Look, here they come."

Tiny balls of light appear and start to circle her.

Sarah held out her hand and they gathered there. Folding her fingers into her palm three times, a small beam of light shot into the air and the shines vanish.

"They performed the task and even vanish from my sight or stay until it's completed," Sarah told her with a bold smile at Joanna's impress expression, "bearers and sprites have an agreement from ancient times. It's hard to form new patterns for them to follow. Like the beam. They watched my body and knew what I wanted, made it. Sometimes there are patterns that are similar, so calling out the name is thankful."

"So the sprites are doing the work?" Joanna questions looking confused.

"Rather than doing the work, they are channelling my light." Sarah explains, then took a step forward to her and say in a low voice, "Between you and me, I have not needed to use shines for a long time. I can perform castings all on my own."

"And that's good?" Joanna asks her in the same low voice.

"Only skilled bearers can do this without the sprites aid," Sarah says stepping back and speaking normally once more, "I do need to use other sprites, like shadows for my smelting, because I don't have no dark within me I _have_ to use them. Fire and air casting I might even be able to do without flames or gravel, but I'm not that skilled yet."

"Huh? Wow, maybe I should have paid a little more attention." Joanna wonders loud and then grins, "Nah. I don't get why werewolves need to learn that stuff!"

"...did you know that's there're two lycanthropes in history that became bearers." Sarah told her with a raised eyebrow, then laughs when Joanna looked at her in shock, "study shows that lycanthropes have means to become bearers. But where the power should be in their soul, there's nothing."

Joanna grins boldly at her.

"Because we are great! We don't need some little thing coming here and 'helping' us!" Joanna told her with a laugh, then pauses and frowns, "Wait! Ain't sprites and those pests the same?"

"'Pests'?" Sarah asks as she blinks at the questions, "Oh! You mean the fairies. Sprites and fairies are the same and different. Sprites are from our world and fairies sneak in when Hunters and capturing monsters. The fairies don't know the law of the land, so they get themselves into a lot of trouble."

"Lot of trouble. Little pests." Joanna growls out darkly, "I want to catch on one day and bite it's head off!"

"Yeah, some fairies join in with the sprites and mess up the casting or smelting." Sarah says with a sigh, "When they do this, it's actually kind of dangerous. A bearer has to know the difference in an instant otherwise it-"

Sarah cuts off and smiles when she notices that Joanna was still cursing the fairies and no longer paying attention.

"Anyway," Sarah calls over to her friend, making her turn, she places her water bottle back inside her subspace, "Let's go!"

Joanna nods and starts following behind her, grumbling about ripping the wings off a fairy. 


	11. Discovery Arc: Sweet Sixteen

It had been a long six weeks.

And thankfully, she had not spent the whole time just collecting shadows, Sarah had managed to set aside time to study, do her summer homework, set up the stall at the marketplace with Joanna and go shopping.

Very busy.

They had learnt that they needed a license to sell goods, thankfully they could buy day licenses that her grandmother help get. They sold everything Sarah had made... even the pottery from Corinna claiming it was a gift.

It was Sarah's sixteenth birthday and Joanna had given her a handmade necklace with a fang on the end, the 'chain' was leather.

Her grandmother gave her a new smelting fit, which she really wanted to get upstairs and try out.

And her old friend Amy had not forgotten her- the rich girl had come early in the morning so not to be seen, handed her a crystal ball and strawberry cake, then left.

...Sarah actually hated strawberry cakes, it was Amy that liked that, she only ate them because she did not want her friend to feel left out. It had only been the two of them and Amy's older sisters when they ate this together during Amy's lonely birthday parties, and the sisters used to tease their younger sister, claiming that strawberry cakes were for babies.

Amy was not lonely anymore since entering high school she had become the bell of the ball, so to speak, and her last birthday party just before the summer started, had the whole first year filling her large house- Sarah did not go, instead just handing her a gold ring that acts as a torch.

Thankfully, Joanna had the thought to ask what she liked beforehand; Sarah's reply brought a smile to her friend's lips since it was not a cake she asked for, but a piece of meat.

Sarah was surprised when her only birthday guest showed up at her house with her whole family. Four older brothers and two younger ones, her mother and father, her mother's sisters and their offspring, her father's brothers and sisters, along with their offspring.

Sarah never had so many come to her birthday before.

Sarah's grandmother took one look at the werewolf clan and started clearing the shop's contents into the storeroom, and sneakily into Sarah's Soul Room.

The Hancocks Family help with this as well.

Joanna throws down on the counter a whole deer, explaining that she had hunted it by herself. Sarah had merely stared at the corpse with the blood slowly oozing down the sides of the counter... and then smiles at her friend.

As a birthday gift Joanna's mother Smadar, came over and told all the girls to gather around, then started to prepare the deer.

Smadar showed how she cut the flesh, gutted and emptied the inners, then carefully showed how she prepared it to tan the shin- the hide and bones were to be given to Sarah when they were ready. Smadar's sisters then vanished and came back with more deer that the males had hunted... which two of each girl was meant to prepare themselves.

Sarah and Joanna teamed up- then gutted the animal, the cuts were less skilful than the older woman but managed to get them all out. They had problems skinning the thing and Smadar was always on hand to help guide them.

The meat was cut up and handed around, apart from the deer that Joanna caught for Sarah, a piece was cook just for her and the rest was given for her to eat later- it was an interesting birthday gift and since Sarah loved to learn, it was one of the best. 

Smadar kept asking Sarah to join their family, claiming that her eldest son had yet to take a mate for himself. It seems that in their family, they began finding mates when they turn sixteen. Sarah politely declined with a smile.

Sarah brings up a piece of meat and shoves it in her mouth, her friend likes to eat her meat rare but she likes it a little more cook- Smadar knew how to cook for a human thankfully.

Glancing around she smiles, it was nice to have this many people around, all laughing and joking. It had always been her and her grandmother, Amy and sometimes her family..., although, she knew that her childhood friend's family did not like her very much and always told their daughter to stop hanging out with her.

They got their wish, even when Amy promised to always be there for her-

Sarah felt a hard pat on the back, turning she see her new best friend grinning at her.

"Eat! My meat is good right?" Joanna says, her shoulders rising up and back proudly, "That was a good chase!"

"Yes, it tastes great." Sarah answers with a soft smile, she stares down at the rest of her meal, lovingly cooked for her and Smadar prepared and tanned it instead of letting the younger ones do so because she wanted it to be perfect for her daughter's friend, "I think this is the great piece of meat I've ever had."

Joanna grins at her, looking like she was going to burst. Sarah places the last piece in her mouth, enjoying the flavour and texture; even if it was not as good as it was, she would have thought the same because it was given to her in such a heartfelt way.

Suddenly the music got louder, Joanna leaps up and drags Sarah along.

Soon Sarah was in a sea of bodies, all dancing wildly. Laughing she danced along with them, not caring who saw her like this... the image of Amy appears, proper dancing, legs straight, foot pointed, not a line out of place- it made sense she worked so hard at it, her oldest friend wanted to be a professional dancer when she grew older.

Sarah could not dance like perfect Amy no matter how she tried for her, but now, it did was of no concern.

Throwing her arms up and moving with the beat by stamping her foot, swinging her hips and swinging side to side- she must have looked stupid.

And suddenly, Amy did not matter. 

It was fun.

And it was more fun because Joanna was doing the same thing, laughing like crazy along with her. Yes, it was fun.


	12. Discovery Arc: Forest!

Sarah runs at full speed, her training had finally bared fruit and she could run at a good pace and control her breathing. 

She had been getting up every morning to go on a jog with Joanna, they always climbed trees and swam in the lake- before, there was no way she could have ever been able to lift her own weight, all she ever lifted before then was a book. 

Sarah had even become more daring, she had leapt from a tree right into the lake from a great height by swinging off a rope. 

Pausing she kneels down and stares through the green foliage, she sees what she was looking for:

A horned bear. 

This creature had come through the gateway of the Phantom Zone two hundred years ago and had not become a dweller of these lands. 

Sarah was not a hunter- still, Joanna birthday was coming up and she wanted to repay her for the gift of friendship. 

The hide of the deer that Joanna had caught was going to be the basics of her cloak of shadows she was trying to make- Joanna' mother came with the tanned hide and it now lay on a table in her Soul Room. 

The giant beast raised its head and sniffs the air. 

It shapely turns in her direction and lets out a thunderous roar. 

Sarah grins, she had dealt with one of these during war class when someone summoned it. It was a Rank 'F' monster and only Rank 'H' and 'I' were allowed on the field. 

Sarah raises up bringing out the coins, four bright lights appeared on her ground in front of her and her summoned monsters emerged.

Elf Warrior, Rock Golem and her newest Skeleton Warrior. 

Calixtus. Rocky, Skully and Sunny... who had popped up and was just floating around her head- Four summons!

"Haha, I'm such a broken character." Sarah mused at the overpowered skills she was born with, "Come on!"

Calixtus changes first, drawing out his long double-edged sword, Rocky stood guard in front of her, raising its arms like a shield... Skully was a little slower than Calixtus, the skeleton had a short sword and dagger, which had yet to be drawn- its level was very low and she was wondering if she made the right choice sending it out.

'Perhaps I should have bought a Skeleton Archer,' Sarah thinks as peers around Rocky's legs, 'Having two frontal monsters might not be the best.'

Sarah watches as Calixtus got lashed with the beast' large paw, hitting his armoured chest and sending him sailing into a tree, it left a big indent when the groaning elf slides down the tree and drops to his knees.

'...well, Calixtus is a 'H' rank monster...' Sarah thinks dully, the armour had thankfully not pierced and there was no blood.

Sarah watches as her slow skeleton reaches the bear and did not even get to fight as he was broken apart in a matter of seconds. 

'...and Skully is an 'I' ranked monster...' Sarah thought with a frown, her monsters had beaten a higher up before, 'I should heal him... and perhaps come back with better equipment.'

The bear was already there and slams against her rock guardian with such force, that the dirt rose up as the beast pushing her monster towards her. 

Sarah groans out with a deep frown, she steps back and then runs around her golem, racing towards her fallen skeleton. 

Dark bearers have better control of skeleton monsters and healing them was a challenge for her- she falls to the skeleton's side, raises her hands, the seal rings she wore glowed with a black mist and the skeleton reformed in front of her eyes. 

Standing up quickly, she sees the bear coming for her. 

Its path was blocked thanks to the sudden appearance of her elf. The sound of the sword hitting flesh echoes through the forest and something lands next to her with a heavy thump. 

Turning she sees the bloody paw laying there. 

Then her elf lands heavily on his back by her feet. 

Sarah held her hands up, facing the bear, says with a loud voice, "Pillar of Light!"

Large beams of light shot around them, she did not even have to call the shines to her aid, she could draw of her own mana pool with them for this casting now. 

Sarah lowers her hands, the Pillars would last for a while. However, both her warriors were inside the pillars of light and with this cast, they were at a standstill too, because it worked both ways. 

The horned bear could not attack and Sarah's monsters could not attack either. 

Sarah wonders if she could do that...

Each monster lived in a certain place in the Phantom Zone, with a gateway summoning to open that Realm. For the past two weeks, she had been studying how to open these gateways, just because she was interested in how to do it. 

When these gateways open, the space around them become fused together as the two dimensions overlay each other for a short time. 

Sarah reaches into her pocket and pulls out a coin she had made herself, it had no seal on the back nor did it have any monster image. 

Another study she had been looking into at the dead of the night, the thing that made her move around like a zombie at the beginnings of her morning runs with Joanna. 

Capturing and sealing a monster- it would have been nice to try and seal the horned bear but she also wanted to see if she could open the gateway.

"I'm far away from town," Sarah told her firmly, glaring at the bloody armed beast at it strikes at her protective pillars, "if this goes wrong, no one will get hurt..."

She raised her hands and calls of her light, healing the elf who still laid in front of her- he rose up, looks around, turns to her and bows his head. 

The skeleton mimicked his actions. 

"Prepare yourselves," Sarah told her Calixtus and he went by her side and glares at the bear, the skeleton copies her actions, "Hear me!"

The shines around her appear in the form of tiny little balls of light. 

They swirl around her body, bouncing up and down, waiting to see what this powerful one wanted from them. 

Bowing her head, she brings her hands to her chest and linked her fingers together, almost like a silent prayer. Suddenly she thrusts her arms outwards and slowly brings a leg up and places it across her other one, the turns around. 

More shines gather, knowing that this was a large request this one was marking- they wait for her words.

"Eternal Forest!" Sarah screams loudly and clearly so that there was no mistake as to where she wanted the gateway to open to. 

The shines spun around so fast that it made Sarah feel dazed, she watches as a new world open up, images of tall thick trees appeared, then went so high and then sort of vanishes where the gateway ends to that place. 

Beyond pillars she sees movement. 

"Bring me a monster! ..." Sarah calls to them and wondering if she was being to blunt for them to listen to this, she pours out her light from her mana pool, "A rank that can take down this beast!"

The shines feast on this light and enjoyed, then they went in all different directions, hunting for the monster. 

Sarah lowers her arms and looks at the coin she had been grasping onto the whole time, she frowns- she still did not have a signet of her own name, so she was wondering if it was okay to capture the monster with only her family seal. 

"I can always engrave my seal later," Sarah told her monsters, "That's what I'm planning to do with the lot of you," she smiles at them, "I love having you here and wished with could stay together-"

Sunny lands on her head.

Sarah blinks, "...wait how did you get here?" he blob had been outside the pillars, floating above.

Looking up she sees the cracks in her pillars and stood back. 

The horned bear was enraged, she had been hoping the blood loss would weaken it but it was still going strong. 

Glancing behind it she sees her golem had moved towards her and smiles- golems were normally used for earth bearers and it was hard for her to summon it at first, she was glad she managed to get one even if the Hunter from the monster shop had to help her through it. 

The golem just threw itself onto the bear...

Sarah felt panic rush through her, unlike her elf and skeleton, she could not heal her golem!

Suddenly the shines had returned and they pointed towards a tree. 

The pillars faded and she raced out, running over the new lush forest floor of the Eternal Forest- this was a dangerous place and she really hoped it to get a monster and leave. 

Calixtus and Skully had followed... and Sunny got lost in her hair...

Sarah's grip on the blank coin was painful now, she stares at the short thick tree wondering where the monster was- until the tree moved. 

It turns to her with an old man's face on the trunk, giving her a sour expression as it glances at her up and down. 

"You're a drus dryad!" Sarah cries out in surprise, they had brought her a rank 'F' monster, the same rank as the horned bear- of course, if its Level was higher than the beast's than it could beat it. 

Drus dryads were a strange monster. Normally monsters fell under a catalogue, water, earth, fire, air, but the drus dryad was a mix between earth and water. 

Sarah looks down at her wrist, wondering if she had enough enchantments she had bought to seal this and capture it. 

"Only one who to find out!" Sarah told herself and tore off the bands around her wrist, choosing to use them all for this, after all, this bear was for Joanna's gift. 

**XD ~ DX**

Sarah fell to the ground, all her monsters were around her, the horned bear was dead and now laying in her Soul Room. 

She had ended the gateway as soon as she sealed the drus dryad and then summoned it out to fight the bear. Between them all, they had beaten it. 

Sarah had buffed them, charmed their swords and healed their wounds. 

Golem needed a lot of care, so she might have to see an earth bearer about it...

Now normally, once the battle or task for the monsters had ended, they get sent back to the Phantom Zone as they are, meaning they had to find a way to heal themselves- Sometimes when they were sent back hurt, people could no longer summon them because they died from their wounds.

If her elf had been in the middle of a meal with friends, she summoned him away, he would return to them hours later in the same place she took him from hurt and injured. 

So she invited them into her Soul Room to rest and said they could return to their realm any time they wanted, all they had to do was ask.

And now the danger was over, she could cheer about the fact that she had managed to open a gateway all by herself and even capture a monster! 


	13. Discovery Arc: Thanks!

Sarah laughs, she was being hugged by her dear friend Joanna; she was delighted with her gift. Joanna then drained it of blood and begun to gut and skin the horned bear ready for tanning.

Sarah was impressed at her friend's skills, it seems she had been practicing while she had been away camping for the past week.

It also seems that Joanna had given up on Ethan from their class, claiming that her mother had shown her four werewolves from another clan to be her mate.

The next full moon, all werewolves who had turned sixteen over the last year, went to this summer gathering. They hunted together and played fight together, it was a three-night stay in some woodlands on the other side of town. Joanna's mother asked the four male mate candidates to go with her- Sarah would not be there for that since she would be leaving with Amy then. 

The two friends pull away from each other... and Sarah stares down at her purple dress, it was covered in blood.

Joanna looks to the horns she had just taken off from the bear and looks at it in pure joy.

Sarah smiles happily at her friend's clear satisfaction- when Joanna told her all the things she had wanted, she bet the werewolf did not think one would actually be giving to her.

"Happy birthday Joanna," Sarah says making her friend turn back to her with a bold smile, flashing her fangs at her once more; if it had months ago when she first met, she would have thought that she was bearing her fangs at her in an angry manner.

The pair watch two young children run past, laughing and having fun at this party, they waved happily at the pair as they went- Sarah was glad she came, she was unsure if she should after her last experience at Amy' house, with her family.

Every year Sarah would go to that large manor like house, never noticing she was unwelcome. Until a couple of years ago when she walked into a room for some plates and happened to hear two women chatting about her.

Sarah remembered their words, they were etched into her heart and mind, they plagued her nightmares for weeks after that; she never returned again, although she kept being friends with Amy because she loved her dearly.

It was only at the beginning of this year did they really stop meeting up...

Sarah shivers at the memory, it still disturbed her thoughts now and again.

"Are you cold?" Joanna questions with a deep frown, it was a rather hot day.

"I'm fine, just thought of something bad." Sarah says with a smile, trying not to ruin her friend's party.

"...the blood? Does it bother you?" Joanna asks glancing down at her frown, the only dress she owed was now covered in blood and so was Sarah's dress. Joanna suddenly looks down, "I'm sorry for being this way."

Sarah frowns, "Being what way?" she asks and went on to say, "And it's not the blood. When I was thinking about your party... and bad memory with my old friend came to mind..." the young woman gets an unsettling expression on her face, "...it like, just popped in there."

"Oh! Well, that sucks!" Joanna said with a laugh, Sarah smiles; she understands now that her friend laughs at anything, even when it was a serious matter. It was almost like she did not know what to do with herself, so she just laughs.

The first couple of times Joanna laughed at something serious and meaningful Sarah had said, she had been taken by surprise and even a little bit hurt.

It took a few days and instead of bottling it up inside as she had done with Amy's family, she went to her grandmother for advice. After talking to her grandmother, she returned to Joanna, sat her down and told her calming that she had been upset with her laughing.

Joanna was a blunt person, she did not see anything wrong and could not understand how it hurt her. But by this, Sarah realizes there was nothing malicious behind her actions.

Joanna reaches out and hugs her again- Sarah understood that she does this to all her close family members.

"Thank Sarah." Joanna says holding her close, bending over to pull her closer.

"For what?" Sarah replies with a smile, the scent of blood was all around them.

"For being my friend," Joanna answers with a small laugh, "... I've always wanted a friend. One who would run with me, go shopping with me, plot prank with me and share meat with me. Someone who wouldn't be scared at my face... I know I'm scary, I've been told many times."

"You're not scary," Sarah told her with a smile, pulling away to see what kind of expression her friend had- Joanna had tears in her eyes, a small smile gracing her lips and her fangs showed. To the outside world, it might have looked like she was going to bite the smaller teen and the blood did not help this illusion.

The clan members, however, knew this was a similar hug and did not even bat an eyelid at it. The pair move away from each other, smiling happily. Both two lonely youths who wanted a friend and found one in each other.

"Oh yeah!" Sarah says suddenly, "I never told you! You know your Mum gave him the deer's hide." Joanna nods at her words, "I've decided to use it as a base for the shadow cloak I'm making!"

"Whoa really! Ya using my gift!" Joanna says in excitement and Sarah was sure that if she was in her wolf form, her tail would have been waggling.

Sarah had not noticed at the time but the deer Joanna had caught had been a special one- it was called a Thunder Deer, like the Horned Bear, it had come through the Phantom Zone and became a dweller of their world.

Thunder deer's leather was widely used in smelting and was a high-end item.

It was clear where Joanna's family made their money from, it seemed to be split with every clan member so the one who caught it would not profit from it.

"Joanna." Sarah says sweetly, making her friend tilts her head at her in question, "Thanks for being my friend."

Joanna just laughs and pulls her into another hug.


	14. Discovery Arc: Within?

Sarah blinks through the shadows, she had bound them with a seal to her room causing a cold dark mist to form.

Some of them were from when she and Joanna had caught them; they had decided to camp out in the forest for a few nights and in some woodlands closer to home.

Other shadows had been from her classmates, who claimed they owed her a favour for her helping them during the war classes and never gotten the change to thank her.

Sarah could buff and support those who were not even in her group.

In fact, students from other classes came and gave her shadows. Most were from the first year but there were also second, third and fourth year.

The shadows were tiny and others were big. They gave what they could and he was very grateful because of it- Sarah did not know just how many people really knew her, they knew _of_ her, but not enough to know her by name.

The other teens would randomly walk up to her and called out her name, clap their hands and then gave her the sound shadow... Even a bully who hurt her badly in the past came up and threw a sealed shadow in her face if it had not been him she may have laughed.

At first, she thought it was because her kind deed in trying to help almost everyone she saw needed it, was paying for her...

Until she realizes the real reason for this.

Sarah sighs as she stares through the cold darkness without fear.

Someone had started a rumour around the town' teens.

According to 'legend' giving a shadow to a light bearer could lead them to their soul mates... in this boring little neutral zone that only had one city, three towns and nine villages, finding love... for the more romantic teens, was a big deal.

Sarah pauses... that beefy bully had given her a shadow, meaning he wanted to find a soul mate...

Sarah had no right to laugh but she did snort loudly, his tough outward appearance did not reflect this.

Shaking her head she stares around at the shadows that had built up, she had enough power within her to hold them... but she was wondering if she walls would hold up.

Sarah thought about it for a moment, wondering what casts could be used... a seal of an earth bearer could help, gravel was the hardest ones for her to control because oddly enough, she had authority over the shadows.

"Sarah?" Corinna calls through the open doorway, daring not to enter- she could just about make out her outline, "Are you in here?"

"I'm here Grandma!" Sarah shouts back, she swims through the current of weighty shadows, holding her arms out in front of herself and heading for the door.

"Sarah," Corinna says when she sees her, she takes hold of her granddaughter's arms and drags her the rest of the way; they stared at each other for a moment, "Thank you have enough?"

"I'm not sure..." Sarah admits with a small smile, she gazes through his dark doorway, it looked almost pitch black in there, not even sunlight from her windows was getting through, "You said when I was a baby, you had thousands of shadows to blind me for balance. Do you think it's enough to hide my light as an adult?"

"No." Corinna told her staring in the doorway as well, watching the shadows moving around, "You still need more. I wish I could buy them for you, but I can't"

"No worries Grandma," Sarah replies with a kind smile, she leans over and hugs the older woman, "It's alright, I don't mind. And I still have four days before Amy goes, I might e about to get some more."

"Well," Corinna says nodding to her, Sarah pulls away and looks to her, "Don't forget to leave time for the smelting," she reminds and raises her eyebrows when she notices her granddaughter's widening eyes, "I bet this kind of smelt is going to take days to complete... Sarah, I don't think you'll make it in time."

Sarah groans out lifting her hand up and rubbing her temple- she had known she had forgotten something in her mad rush for shadows. And she had been having so much fun playing with Joanna when catching them.

"Great," Sarah moans out knowing that she would have to do without any cover, "What I am going to do with these shadows now?"

"Just them in your Soul Room, it's big enough." Corinna says, she turns and walks away.

"Wait! I can put shadows in there?" Sarah asks quickly, stopping her grandmother.

Corinna turns, "Yes, didn't I tell you?" she replies with a cheeky grin, "Oops. Sarah, you can place the shadows in your Soul Room like your monsters."

" _Grandma_!" Sarah moans out loudly, she drops her head slightly and slams her palm into her forehead.

"See you later Sarah, my precious light," Corinna calls over her shoulder as she starts making her way down the stairs, "Clean up every shadow in your room, or our or neighbours may start complaining about it on their live bogs."

Raising her head and dropping her arm to her side, Sarah moans once more as she wanders back to her room and through the doorway- she wonders how she was going to do this.

Sarah knew that Sunny went easily inside, so during the summer, she had placed her other monsters inside. Her Elf Warrior and Rock Golem also managed to stay inside.

Walking into the centre, or at least she was hoping it was the centre, she spread out her arms and took in a deep breathe- she decides to try and cast them inside as she catches sprites into the sealed jars.

Closing her eyelids and hiding her purple eyes from view, she begun.

A small speck of light appears on her chest, just over her heart. This speck grew into a ball of light in a matter of seconds, it whirls around with many colours and one by one the shadows began to twist and whirl towards this light. They went round fast and as soon as they hit the middle of the light, they gave a final spin and they vanished within Sarah's soul.

Sarah was not sure how long she stood there with her eyes closed, slowly bringing and placing the shadows in- halfway through she opens them and watches in amazement as the shadow sprite spun in front of her, almost like a strange dance.

By the time the last shadow was spinning in front of her, her feet were throbbing from standing there too long.

Dropping down on her knees, she puffs up her cheeks and blew out a huge sigh. Then gazing up she scans the toom, making sure none that escaped her calling.

Every shadow seemed to be gone.

Slowly getting to her feet she felt the shadows singing inside her, it seems they liked the light of her soul.

Shine and shadow sprite were actually very different from gravel, flame, droplet and gust sprites- the four 'main' and common elements' sprite stuck to their bearers.

A flame sprite would dislike a water beater. While a water bearer could seal them through seals, they would unable to cast anything with them.

But shine sprites liked dark bearers and shadow sprites loved light bearers.

They was actually a saying; 'the stronger the light, the deeper the shadow.'

Light bearers and dark bearers used to close to one another nine hundred years ago during the Atlantis period, but this relationship turned sour.

While some still went with the other, light and dark as a whole continued growing apart. The light and dark were far removed one from the other, during the 'Forgotten War' and they were the main adversaries to each other.

With a sigh, Sarah flops down on her beanbag and lays back, she blinks up at the ceiling- she felt something.

Leaping to her feet, she spun around and blinks in surprise at what she sees folded on her favourite seat. Reach down she picks it up and lets it drop out, gasping lightly when she realizes what it this was.

It was a cloak made of many shadows.


	15. Discovery Arc: Getting There

Sarah was in her Soul Room, not her main room, no she had been building a grand palace it seems- the room she was currently in was filled with shelves that held her many books.

She sat on an old sofa she had found while camping with Joanna, it had been dumped along the roadway. Joanna had mentioned her aunt fixed up old furniture and made them as good as new, so took it to her.

The framework was fine, all it needed was the covering to be renewed and the cushions to be cleaned.

After placing the sofa into the large place, she realizes just how empty it was.

Sure she had a mountain of books and other stuff she had brought in. But it really did not have any other stuff... she had taken her beanbag in... and wanted to make another one.

Sarah really did not have enough money to buy anything like table and chairs, she was saving it for the trip.

Calixtus was sitting on the beanbag opposite her, gazing through a book- he did not have his light armour on and was wearing a red tunic, his sword still rested by his side even if he looked relaxed, she knew he was ready to fight.

Sunny was bouncing off the walls, happily humming.

And her golem Rocky could be seen outside the 'window' - the so-called outside was another room she made, it was a giant garden she created for her monsters since they seemed to like being in her Soul Room rather than returning to their realm.

Also the garden, the drus dryad slept in the form of that thick short tree, with the skeleton monster sleeping in its roots. 

Her grandmother showed her something called 'World Edit' where at could make certain walls that made it looks like other things, like the ceiling in the garden looked like the blue sky and there was even a ray of light shining down. It moved around the 'sky' and the 'day' cycle lasted only eight hours and 'night' lasted four hours.

The World Edit skill left her feeling drained and making the garden knocked her out for three days, thankfully she woke up in time for Amy's trip.

A shadow drifts pass her and Sarah smiles at it, she was unsure what to do with all these shadows now. For now, he let them stay within his Soul Room.

A voice in the real world could be heard, today she did not go into the dimensions; her body was sleeping on the train while she read inside herself, creating a ghosty form in the Soul Room.

"But where did it come from?" Sarah asks loudly Calixtus glances up but then went back to reading, it seemed he enjoyed reading as much as she did.

Wrapped around her real body was the shadowy cloak that appeared in her room. It was everything she wanted and more. The clock was pitch black it moved with an invisible wind which caused parts to whirl away seemingly into nothingness, then reforming over and over, almost like the appearance of ink being dropped into water.

_~Sarah, are you listening? Wait. Are you even awake?~_ Amy's voice asks from the real world, she felt a ghostly hand touching her hand.

"I'm going now," Sarah says to her elf as she stands and waits for her monster to nod, closing her eyes she opens them to see the library was gone and she was in a train carriage.

"Sarah?" Amy asks as she notices the black cloak moving more than before.

"I'm awake," Sarah answers from under the hood, the only thing on view was her chin and mouth, darkness helped conceal the rest.

"Are you hot in that?" Amy questions as she sits down on the other end and faced him.

"No, it is surprisingly cool. There must be Cold Stone used is this." Sarah answers with a smile as she gazes through the hood, "There are so many others things 'smelted' into this, it's amazing! I really want to meet the person who made it!"

"Yeah," Amy said relaxing in her seat, "I would want to as well. I noticed you keep taking notes."

"Oh?" Sarah mutters as she glances towards her thick notebook on her side, "This, yeah I want to try and recreate it later. The same as it is! So I am still collecting shadows because this thing has a messes amount of shadows in it. More than I have right now."

"You are?" Amy says looking at her in surprise, "Why would you want to? You have that now."

"Actually, I'm thinking about going into the smelting business..." Sarah said shyly her cheeks start going red and she was thankful for the shadows that hid them, "If I can't remake this amazing piece of art, because that is what it is! Art! Then I'm not good enough." By the end of that, his voice has risen loudly.

"Wow Sarah, you can really dedicate to this," Amy says with a kind smile, "I bet you become a great Smelter."

"Thanks." Sarah says as she leans back in her seat, not sure at what point she had sat upright. "Also I'm hoping to find some shadows outside the neutral zone. I heard shadows are more common there."

"That's right." Amy replied with a nod, "Since we're going to dark bearers territory, there was be lots around. More powerful ones than what you could have gotten at home."

"I am a bit nervous about going into dark territory," Sarah admits soon as she said this she felt her shadow clock tighten around him, "Dark bearer don't like light bearers."

"You'll be fine." Amy reassured her gently, "That cloak will keep you hidden."

"But when I go shadow hunting," Sarah says in a worried voice, "I using this new trick to catch shadows."

"New trick?" Amy asks in interest, leaning over slightly "How does it work?"

Sarah stares at Amy for a moment, unsure whether or not to tell her to in case something went wrong. Taking a small inward breathe she says, "Its a power light technique. I release a beam of light into the sky and shadows are drawn to it, they get sucked in if they get near. It's very bright. And can be seen miles away even during the day."

"How do you know that?" Amy asks with a frown.

"Because I was using it in the woodlands outside the city," Sarah said turning her head away, knowing she knew what she meant now.

"Wait! That thin line of light going into the sky was you?!" Amy cries out in shock, "It looked like those spotlights outside a football stadium!"

Sarah just laughed, not knowing what to say now- she must have picked up that habit from Joanna. 


	16. Discovery Arc: Arrival

Sarah stares from under her hood in stunned amazement; she had never seen so many people gathered in one place before, not even in the city in the neutral zone.

It suddenly made her feel very small.

As she moves amidst the crowds of people, he could smell the sea coming on the breeze- this city was run by water-bearer and was said to be the second-largest city in the world.

It had taken them ten hours to travel there by train and although she had been sitting more of the time, for some reason she felt exhausted and could not understand why.

Sarah recalls her grandmother claiming she would be tired on the other end and make sure she got some rest once she settled down into her hotel room.

'With this many people here," Sarah thinks as she stuck close to Amy, together they went through the crowds, 'Did I even need to worry about my light?'

Actually, Sarah had seen light bearers walking around, yet others they had clearly covered themselves. There were also fire and air bearers around. It had a multitude of different bearers and lycanthropes moving together, almost like a neutral zone... so why were they kept in a bubble?

"Sarah! This way!" Amy shouts of the sound of people talking and shouting over each other.

"Which way?" Sarah calls back, she was quickly losing sight of her- her shadowy cloak shot out a string and wraps around her right wrist, Sarah blinks at this, she heard her friend's gaps of surprise.

Sarah watches Amy brings up her wrist and stares back at the rope-like shadow, following it she finds the black cloak that hid Sarah- she studies her and Sarah could only guess what she must see there. A pitch black black that always seemed to be moving around her form; it seems to drag a little as it pools around her feet, yet Amy could not see her feet. Only her shin could be seen.

Sarah steps forward.

"Sorry Amy," Sarah calls over, she dispels the rope, "Where to now?"

"This way... why don't you hold on to me," Amy says when she turned, Sarah went red in the face and allowed the clock to move out, it curled around her hand. Even though she was not holding her with her own hand, she face turned redder still.

'I'm almost holding hands with Amy!' Sarah thinks, getting a little dizzy at the idea of it, in a dazed like state she continued to follow her, staring at their 'joint' hands the whole way.

"...Sarah, did you hear me? We're here." Amy said facing her, she bent over slightly causing her vest to loosely around her chest. Sarah's eyes widen as she saw just the top of her cleavage.

Letting go with her cloak Sarah closes her eyes shut at the impure thoughts that entered her mind, "Oh? Really..." Sarah says with a small laugh, "That's great!"

Amy frowns a little at her shaky voice, "Sarah, are you sure you're not to hot in that?"

"I'm sure. More like tired from all this walking!" Sarah answers quickly inwardly cheering when she moves away from her.

"Okay, let's get checked in," Amy said pointing at their hotel before them, "Then we can get something to drink."

Sarah nods her head but Amy could not see this. She felt bad now for thinking about her friend in that manner, it never used to be this way; she had been in love with Amy for a number of years now and it was only in this past week when they were making plans and during their long train ride, did these unclean thoughts started.

'I got to ask her out this summer,' Sarah thinks to herself, she really wanted Amy back in her life but this time as a girlfriend.

Sarah follows Amy through the double doors, the lobby area was just as busy as the city street. People were coming in and out of the elevators, some stood or walked together and most were on their phone. All the chairs were full and people's luggage was everywhere.

It was a nice hotel. Amy's family was very well off in terms of money. Made her wonder why they had become friends in the first place.

Sarah was not rich like Amy but she was not poor like Joanna. Her grandmother made just enough to live comfortably.

Sarah managed to sell more of her grandmother's pottery, some of her seals and even her smelting pieces. She was hoping the extra money would allow her to go to a few books shops here. There was a giant book that dealt with rare books and scrolls.

She had seen it on the computer and noted down everything she wanted... there were too many to number, even with his money, he could get two good books.

"Ah! Miss Sarah Hikari!" Sarah quickly answers when she sees Amy and the woman behind the desk staring at her, she much had said the right thing because the pair smile at her and a key was handed to her.

"Room 1996, Miss Hikari!" The woman tells her with a professional smile straining her lips, "Please enjoy the Dark Sense Hearing."

"Of course," Sarah replies with a sweet smile, then almost laughs when she remembers that the woman would not see- while her mouth was visible under her hood, the desk level was too high for her because of her short she was.

"Let's go," Amy says holding up her own key, "I'm just next door to you, room 1997."

Sarah follows behind her friend and love interest, heading for their rooms to drop off their things, or rather Amy was; she has a subspace bag around her waist, it was an txe-etsai leather skin, which could carry a lot of items. Even if these bags could with enchantments, they could still be stolen and that would be all of her belongings gone.

Sarah had all her things in her Soul Room, so no one could get her stuff. But thinking this was a bit strange, she got a normal leather bag and place her practice seals on the front. No one could see it through the cloak but she was going to leave it in the room when she left.

"When does this dark scene fair start?" Sarah questions when they got into the elevator surprisingly they were the only two there.

"'Dark Sense Hearing'." Amy corrected as she watches the numbers going up, "Do you think the leader of the dark rare would come all this way just for a simply fair? You should be interested in this, its been happening since the Forgotten War."

"Yeah, I read somewhere that King Éber started it up for some reason." Sarah said as she waits for the doors to open, "Of course no one remembers the reason. They have this event every five years, right? In different places every time."

"Yes!" Amy cries out in excitement, together they walked down the long hallway passing people by, "I was bouncing off my seat when they announced it was coming here!"

"I remember that you talked about it for weeks..." Sarah says with a bit of a laugh, then stopped when she thought about something; it had been announced three years ago when they were still hanging out but now, "... but Amy, why did you wait until that last minute to say me to come with you?"

"Sorry heh heh," Amy laughs as she stood outside her door, "It really was a last-minute thing. I was meant to go with my cousin, but he said he wanted to go with his girlfriend alone, my parents wouldn't let me until I was with someone. My parents came a few days ago ahead of time, they are visiting some old friends. And my sisters... they went with their boyfriend and husband, saying I would be in the way... Thanks for coming with me Sarah. I do appreciate it."

Smiling Sarah watches her friend opens the door and go inside, giving her a small wave she closes it.

Sarah turns and heads to the next door along, frowning deeply now. It did not make sense, why would Amy's family allow someone they hated to go with their daughter?

Sarah opens her own hotel door and went inside, it closes behind her on its own; she wanders over to the bed and crawls upon and flops down with a sigh.

'...still, this is my chance to get to know Amy again,' Sarah thinks with a smile, she had been missing her since their parted... until Joanna came along, the werewolf filled the hole in her heart and it was only at rare things did Amy haunted her memory.

The desire to become Amy's girlfriend was the same even if her family disapproved. 


	17. Discovery Arc: Can You Hear Me?

Sarah slept until the evening ate dinner in her room alone and waited- Amy had told her about an event that was happening, it happened at the start of every night and she had left with a goodbye.

When night completely fell over the city that was hosting the Dark Sense Hearing this year, all the lights blinked off from the windows of the buildings and houses, shops that were still opened, dimmed their lights.

The street lamps lining the streets also went dim... it was fine if you were dark bearer or lycanthropes that could see in the dark, but for others, it was a little hard to see.

Sarah through the with all this light pollution gone she could have a clear view of the stars in the sky, none shone down. It was like there was a blanket of darkness across the heavens.

Even while this was happening, people wandered around in good cheer; there were moments to go before it was said King Éber had arrived from the castle that was on a hill above the city.

Sarah was interested, of course, she was, she wanted to learn about the Forgotten War... yet each time her grandmother got this sad expression on her face, so her sake she kept silent and tried to learn about it this time period elsewhere.

Most information was covered up by the Forgotten Centuries curse, blocking it from view.

With her cloak wrapped firmly around her, Sarah walks through the park humming loudly- dark bearers and their allies were everywhere. It was not like there was a war going on but people even nowadays was a little bit defensive.

Thankfully she saw some fire bearer walking in a group and that calmed her down. This section of the land was not at war, there were still wars going on in faraway lands but that hardly affected this part of the world.

The deeper she went in this nature park in the centre of the city, the fewer and fewer people that had gathered and wander, become.

Sarah opens her window and looks at the map she had placed there, staring it closely with a light at the end of her finger.

With a gentle mumbling she sent it out along with a wind casting and the map glowed, it would have lit up with red or yellow dots if any other person was in this area but there was none.

She was the only one around for miles.

Sarah smiles, there were shadows everywhere!

Amy was right to say that there would be more here.

The cloak seemed to sing to her and laugh, cry out, shout, the shadows within were amused about something.

Her smiles faded and she glances through the darkness; if there was no one around and her detection cast showed nothing, then what this feeling about?

The feeling of being watched.

... she remembers this, it had happened when she had cast the Mock Moon during one of her first war classes.

Sarah turns back to her map, there was still nothing and her detection cast was level 52, she had raised it well when searching for sprites- sprites could only be detected on level 50 so she had worked most of the summer for it...she could not say it was a waste of time but she only reached level 50 after she had found the sprites she wanted.

Sarah opens her menu, no skill was a waste of time in her eyes, she was on a race to get many and level them up.

Studying the map she sees up to ten miles around her when she reached 60 another five miles would be added but she had mainly focused on detecting the stronger bearers and sprites, rather than building it outwards.

Sarah had guessed that most had gathered in front of a T.V screen; it was being broadcast around the city since not everyone would fit inside that stadium- it held up to 122,000 people.

Sarah glances at her the top of her 'window' where it held the time and date.

Dark Sense Hearing was about to begin.

Trying to relax she sighs deeply, allowing her cloak to tighten- she was getting ready to cast.

It was kind of nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time.

Gathering her bravely she grins, Sarah wanted all these powerful shadows in this area.

There were no shines around, which was fine, Sarah could use this cast without her aid.

Taking a slow deep breath, she begins by parting her legs slightly. A glow appears at her feet, it then formed into a solid light, soon it passes through her body and then shot upwards, higher than all the tall trees around her.

It got brighter and brighter until it was a solid beam of light.

Sarah felt the rush of shadows coming for her light; they seemed to be throwing themselves into it.

Closing her eyes, she continues, wanting this to do this fast- although everyone would be looking at the screens, that was only the dark bearers and their allies, light, air and fire were banned from watching it, so there was a good chance that someone could see this.

Grinning boldly Sarah starts to shake in her fear and excitement.

She felt like a bad child standing on the kitchen table with both hands in the cookie jar.

Sarah half wished she could have brought Amy with her, even if it was just to show off her power- but Amy had bought tickets to the actual stadium and she had been so happy open to having these seats for the opening... being a light bearer, of course, she was not allowed to join her friend.

The shadows she had drawn in Sarah nudge them gently straight into her Soul Room and not even sealing them in a container first; she had practised this before she came when she went outside and used the beam over and over in different places around town as not to get caught.

It had worked, the shadows had been quite happy just to be in the Soul Room without any sealing and never tried to leave, they seemed to bound themselves to her without such effect of her part.

"Need more shadows," Sarah mumbles in a low voice, she thinks how many shadows went into making this wonderful cloak he wore right now, 'Okay, I might need the help of my shadows that are already bound to me.'

The young woman lets out a sigh, readjusts her feet a little, making the light flicker- for some reason for this casting her feet had to remain planted on the ground.

"Can you hear me?" Sarah whispers gently, she felt the answer and smiles, "Help me throw my voice, let every shadow in this place hear me!"

She felt a wave of acknowledgement flash through her, not just the ones that were already bound to her, but the newer ones who only just came in moments ago.

Sarah had learnt about this in class, shadows had the power to talk to one another over long distances, even the dark bearers could hear the shadows if they focused.

Gathering her power, reaching deeper into her mana pool, Sarah casts out more and the light coming from her grew higher into the skies above- the shadows bound to him ready themselves to carry his voice.

" _Can you hear me? Come to me!_ " Sarah whispers again in a low gently tone, shocking herself at the strange echoing voice that floats, it was like a haunting melody, " _Can you hear me? I am here! Come to me!_ "

Sarah felt a mad rush of power, throwing her off balance for a second, causing the light to flicker once more.

The shadows came pouring in.

Feeling her confidence growing by this Sarah allowed herself to put more power into the light.

" _Can you hear me? Come here! Come here to me!_ " Sarah whispers a little more fierce, sweat began to form on her brow and temples. Shadows gather to her faster, going deeper and deeper into her- pain blooms in her heart but still, she continues on.

Suddenly Sarah heard something, a whisper. No, it was someone talking, she could not understand the words.

" _Answer me_!" The voice demanded loudly, it held the haunting echo to it as well- it had been so sudden, that it caused Sarah to blink her eyes open and stare into the darkness outside her light. 

'Someone else is calling shadows to them too?' Sarah thinks as she grins; her curiosity got the better of her and she reaches out to the voice.

" _I am here!_ _Who are you?_ " Sarah questions the stranger softly- she swore she heard a roar of cheering coming from the city around her, but she was dead centre of the park area and was too far for her to be sure, 'Did King Éber do something?'

" _No! Who are you?_ " The voice asked a little less demanding, becoming almost kind, " _Are you the one?_ "

" _The one?_ " Sarah said frowning deeply, 'What is he talking about? It is a 'he' right? The echoing makes it a little hard to tell but the voice is deeper than mine.'

" _Are you The Forgotten One?_ " The voice questioned sharply this time.

" _Forgotten One_... _?_ " Sarah mumbles out her eyes widening, 'Just who is this?!'

" _Are you The Forgotten One?_ " The voices said with that demanding voice again.

"..." Sarah stood there blinking in shock, not even knowing how to reply to something like this. 'Who the hell asks for the Forgotten One!? That's forbidden right! That's a law against that! Studying it a little in fine! Not seeking them in this manner!'

" _Answer me!_ " The voice demands, but there is something different in his voice, " _I want to know! I_ need _to know! What it was I forgot!_ "

" _Who are you?_ " Sarah hisses out angry now that someone was going against the law, although she wanted to know herself and might have some the same thing if thought of it first but she was careful on everything she said because of her grandmother, " _No one should be seeking The Forgotten One! There is a reason why the people of old forgot!_ "

" _Tell me the reason!_ " The voice shouts at her, Sarah could feel something the person was reaching out more, " _Tell me the reasons! Because of that 'reason' my heart bleeds! Tell me! Why does it cry out in pain? What I forgetting to made me suffer so much?_ "

" _Who are you_?" Sarah said again this time it was her who was demanding, something she rarely did.

" _I am_ Éber." The voice comes again, their voice strong even in this haunted tone.

Sarah was completely frozen, her heart slammed against her rib cage painfully.

Suddenly she slaps out of it.

" ** _King Éber!?"_** Sarah screams out loudly, she knew that the other side must have been deafened by this but she was too shocked to care.

Sarah immediately stops casting and falls backwards onto her rear, the light disappears leaving alone with just a few shadows around her.


	18. Discovery Arc: The Morning After!

  
Inside a well-lit hotel room, a bump under the bed's covers starts to move- it wiggles to the top and an opening appears.

Purple eyes with stars in them, blinking at the outside world.

Realizing that she could not live in sheetsville all her life, Sarah slowly pulls the covers off her head as she rose up, taking a deep inwards breath as she did, it had been hot under there.

Gazing dully around the room she finds no one there.

Turning around she throws the covers away from herself and sat up, bringing her legs to hang off the side of the bed. Then sighs, the morning's summer sun had boiled her and because she had used a lot of power, she could not control her body temperature.

Standing from the bed, she drags herself over to the mini-fridge that came in the room, she half remembering that Amy had asked for everything included in there. On opening it, she spots a bottle of chilled water.

Grabbing it she quickly cracks it open and unscrewed the lid, then bringing it to her lips she tips her head backwards, taking long gulps.

Her face was flush with red, sweat made her hair stick to her skull and skin. Dropping her head down she pulls the bottle away and takes a huge intake of air.

Sarah blinks down at herself, she sees that he was still wearing her clothes from the night before."I ran all the way back," Sarah mumbles as he slowly walks back to the bed and flops down, "And hid under my covers the whole night!"

Sarah was suddenly glad for all the training she had done with Joanna, if it had been her before, running from that distance would have killed her.

And Sarah had been so scared that she could not think of anything other than keeping away from the area she was standing in- this was not meant to happen.

Suddenly, she really wanted to know, her desire for knowledge screams at her... but there was something else she wanted to know, that was disturbing her mind.

"The whole dark hearing fair thing.. is... is just a cover over!" Sarah cries out but quickly covers her mouth and turning to stares at Amy and her joining doors between their two rooms and fell upon her bed, sitting once more, "She must know. There is no way she does not know."

Sarah now understood why it was called 'hearing' and 'dark', dark bearers could contact shadows, light bearers could as well but that was very rare and they mostly used sight through the shines rather than the hearing like the shadows.

When dark bearers came together they could have enough power to throw one person's voice, like an amplifier or microphone.

"How long has been going on?" Sarah questions feeling panic swell but inside her once more, it battled with her curious nature and wanted to ask questions, "Wait! Why would they let non-dark allies to enter the territory while doing this? Why are they trying to contact The Forgotten One?!"

Sarah stands, then gazes around the hotel room... not sure just what to do with herself, she needed to know. There must be someone who can explain what was happening in this city. Suddenly Sarah strips herself of yesterday's clothes, wanting a bath or shower to feel a little more comfortable. Tossing her dirty clothes on the bed, she makes her way to the bathroom naked.

As she reaches the doorway, she chooses to have a shower- moving forward, she rushes to turn on the water; it was nice and cool. Stepping under the lovely sprays she closes eyes and lets her confused mind wander.

  
'King Éber...' Sarah thinks as she rubs her long purple hair to get it soaked, 'What was is it he said? 'Pain'? 'Suffer'? Yeah, that was it. I was so surprised it was him, I completely forget what he said in the first place.'

Sarah continues to rub her hands over her hair, it was so long she had to lift it up to get the tips wet. Turning to one side, she eyes up the shampoo and soap that was given with the room... she wonders if she should just use her own.

After a moment of a staring contest with the shampoo, she finally reaches down and picks it up.'Okay, so, it's against the law to try and find the Forgotten One in-depth,' Sarah told herself, she closes her eyes as she pours the shampoo in her hands and plops it upon her head, 'We are raised to believe that no one must know, everyone says so! Each bearer agrees to this! ugh! There are too many questions and nowhere I can go for answers...' her mind went to her sweet grandmother who gave up her golden years to raise a cursed child, '...I can't get any from here... I'm a light bearer...'

Openly her eyes she realizes that she had to talk to someone!

'This dark hearing thing,' Sarah ponders over this, rinsing the lather that had formed, 'There has to be information on it because I did read a little about it but was not interested in it.' she remembers that at the time, she had been focused on other projects at the time, 'Not once did it mention about trying to speak to the Forgotten One! I'd think I would remember something like that!"

Sarah quickly began washing her body, wanting to see Amy.

She wanted to see her reaction from last night, see what she says happened at the start. Dark bearers were not the only ones who knew this was happening and came together for this gathering, Amy was proof of this being a water bearer.

Turning off the water and stepping out of the shower, she grabs a towel and starts drying herself as fast as possible.

Opening her window she peers into her Soul Room, searching for her clothes.

Seeing them she opening another window that showed a full-body image of her and dragging the clothes over to it, she places them on. Clicking the 'yes' image, a bright flash of light fills the small room; when it had faded Sarah stood there fully dressed.

She wore a loose pair of shorts that were a deep purple in colour, it had pink running through it and little dots, that were meant to be like stars. With this, she had on a pink tank top with a golden star over her chest.

Wrapping around her head was a pink headband, with stars either side and darker pink ribbons- once upon a time, she had frowned on anything like this but since being friends with Joanna her mind had been opened to different things... and found that she actually liked did star patterns, even if the cursed tattoos in her hair and eyes had been a misery all her life.

She was also wearing a black and red bumbag around her centre, the main back itself was hanging behind her and she had two leather pockets attached to each side, one holding her phone and the other holding her monster coins.

She had added a couple of other monsters to her collection.

A skeleton maid and a skeleton butler, these were to take care of her Soul Room since she had a habit of dumping things inside and leaving them there to trip over later.

Skeleton was one of the cheapest monsters and even if they came under 'dark' they could be trained to any bearer.

The skeletons did not have names yet, nor did the drus dryad- the tree monster was still not her biggest fan...

Turning to the mirror she gave herself a quick once over, it was not her most stylist clothes but it was comfortable and that was what she felt she needed today.

Closing the windows down, Sarah walks out of her bathroom and back into the main room, she glances at the clock on the wall, she stares at it in surprise, it was almost eleven.

'...wonder if Amy is up yet?' Sarah thinks blinking towards the door, moving over to it she stood there for a moment, "...and how I am going to face her? What if they found out it's me they talked to? What should I do? Continue as normal if she does not say anything or ask her myself?"

Sarah felt a pressure forming behind her eyes and knew a headache was coming on- she had not gotten much sleep last night in fear the dark bearers were going to come knowing at her door.

'If only I could run away quickly...' Sarah thought to herself and then an idea came to mind, "That's it!" she says firmly, a grin appearing and her hands balled into fists, "I'm going to learn to transfer myself! Even if it's the last thing I do!" she pauses and mused, "... and it might just be if I get it wrong!"

It had been something she was going to try and learn anyway, the Soul Key was not just for storage, it acted as a buffer and supporter of any bearers powers. And having the Key to match her own mana would empower her further.

It had been the Soul Key, to begin with, that had made her pause her transfer training because she needed to study and practice how to use it first- although, she had been still using it to move her monsters around; Later on, she wanted to study the reasons why summoned monsters could be transferred around and humans could not.

Perhaps it was a good thing she found the Key before trying the transfer skull on herself.

"Wait!" Sarah suddenly hisses out as she places her hand over her heart, in her mind, she brings up the windows- by her profile image of herself, were three items boxes that were highlighted with gold, two of the three were filled. One with the Soul Key and the other with the Cloak of Shadows.

Sarah stares at the Light Soul Key.

"Could that be the reason?" Sarah questions aloud as she ran her fingers over the ghosty image of the 'window', "Having the Key with me, could it have caused him to hear my voice? And not that dark scene thing, he is the owner of the Dark Soul Key.... and he has had hundreds of years to master it..."

Sarah moans loudly, she was adding more questions to her ever building up mysteries. Suddenly she halts all movement and listens... she could hear something- a soft tapping sound. "Amy." Sarah says with a long sigh of relief when she realizes it was coming from the doors between their two rooms, she hurries over to it and unlocks the door from her side, taking a deep breath she forces a smile on her lips and opens it up, "Good morning!"


	19. Discovery Arc: Mystic Fog!

Sarah kept up her forced smile all the while she listens intensely to Amy's voice and paying close attention to her words as her friend eagerly explains the start of the Dark Sense Hearing to her.

Amy sat across from her at the breakfast, observing her every move.

As Amy spoke while she ate her meal, Sarah notices how she keeps brushing her hair back behind her ear, something she does only when lying.

Sarah turns slightly, glancing around her at the rest of the hotel's restaurant; she could sense who was the dark bearers, water bearers, fire bearers, earth bearers, air bearers and even light bearers.

Now Sarah was looking at them all in a different light, she could see something off. Each group of dark bearers and allies of dark bearers, seemed to have a member in their group that was not part of the 'alliance'.

'It's a cover-up!?' Sarah thinks as she keeps her face free of expression, something she had learnt to do when pretending something was fine in front of her grandmother and that she was not being bullied or suffering in silence

The young woman reaches for her tall glass and drank deeply, the milk was nice and chilled, it helped with how dry her mouth had become, 'Could it be they invite friends along so it is less suspicious. I mean this could cause a war...'

Finishing up the whole glass, she sat it gently back down into its place above the plate; her breakfast she had not wanted to eat, she ate quickly and every bite was tasteless and every swallow felt like lead going down, it lay heavy on her stomach.

As soon as Amy was finished, she was going to run and hide in her room until she could think of a way to get some answers.

'Amy knows,' Sarah thinks almost sadly, she leans back in her seat, very grateful for the cloak and its hood, only Amy could see her from this angle and all she had to do was bow her head slightly and it hid her face, 'She knows and not saying anything. But why? She's a neutral like me!'

"So Sarah," Came Amy's sweet voice and smiling at her kindly, she sets her knife and fork on her plate, "What are you doing today?" then she gives an apologetic smile, "I'm meeting my friends at one o'clock, we're going to that Park Centre. But last night, only dark bearers and allies are allowed entry... so..."

"That's fine!" Sarah replies quickly, hopefully, not too quick, "I'm going to that rare book shop I mentioned on the train. Also, there's a second-hand book shop I want to go see."

"Okay!" Amy says happily, she starts to stand, grabbing her handbag and placed it into her sub-space bracelet.

'A bracelet sub-space...whoa,' Sarah thinks staring at it, the enchantments that were written on that to make it must be tiny as well as the sprites that were used.

"See you at dinner then!" Amy calls out breaking her out her daze.

Sarah gave her a small wave and another forced smile; she was seriously doubting the reason he was here with her. Amy had told her that her family did not want her to travel alone. Amy could have gone with her parents but chose to go on a later date.

This whole thing as designed around the Dark Sense Hearing- what if each adult needed to bring a person with them. And sixteen was classed as an adult in most places.

Raising up, Sarah turns to the direction of the exit, she slides past the tables and chairs making sure not to knock into anybody's back.

There was a buzz in the room, everyone appears to be excited.

More than yesterday, causing Sarah to wonder if King Éber used every single person here' power to cry out through the shadows to reach the Forgotten One.

'There's another question,' Sarah thinks as she hurries down the street, her cloak gave the appearance of someone floating along since none of her movements could be seen. The shadows flick, curls, twists and grows as he went; there were so many shadows and smelt work gone into making the cloak Sarah was still unsure if she would ever uncover everything, 'Should I tell anyone?'

Sarah blinks when she notices she made it to the train station, people were hurrying along trying to catch the next one that was coming.

She waits on the platform, the air around her picks up and metal carriages of the trains sped by but slowed to a stop.

'I am at a complete loss at what to do!' Sarah groans inwardly, feeling tired and drained, she walks forward, pushing against the taller people around her; her cloak gave the little woman protection from the many bodies being forced into this small space.

'I am _sooooo_ loving this cloak!' Sarah thinks, her mind going off-topic for a moment while she stares in wonder at this amazing thing that was wrapped around her.

Shaking her head to remove those thoughts, she starts thinking about the matter at hand again.

However the longer she dwells on it the more she was starting to realize that there was nothing she could do; even she if was to tell someone about this, she was a nobody. It would be her word against thousands of people and King Éber himself.

'I really don't like this... I should go home,' Sarah thinks fearfully, she was stuck in the middle of a city that was not her ally by bearer, even if she has seen other light bearers walking about happily, that was not the point, 'If they found out I was collecting shadows in a place I wasn't meant to be in... and that it was _me_ who spoke to them... what will happen? I think its best to keep my mouth shut until I learn more or get out.'

Sarah walks out of the metal box known as a train, she went onto another platform filled with more people that towered over her. This was another reason she wishes she knew how to transfer. Travel would be a thing of the past.

"Wonder if I'll ever be able too..." Sarah mumbles sadly to herself, moving through the sea of legs and walks into the sunlight.

She was so glad that it was a bright sunny day, it made her feel stronger, which was great since she hardly got any sleep... Pulling up her map on her window, she gazes through the shadow cloak that hid her face and studies where she was going.

Turning right she quickly walks along... and a chill ran down her spine. For some reason, she felt like she was being followed.

The sea of people seemed to be vanishing from the street as well.

Sarah quickens her pace hoping it was just her being paranoid and that this place normally has lesser people coming down it.

'This is street comes off the high street!' Sarah snaps at herself, 'There should be a lot more people!'

Gazing to her right and then her left, she finds no one about.

"Just in my mind, it's just in my mind," Sarah tells herself through gritted teeth, she glanced at the map and focused on getting there. That feeling would not go away.

Stopping suddenly she spins around to see if there was anyone behind her.

None.

Not even the normal people going about their normal day.

Sighing loudly she turns back around and starts moving again.

Her senses were still screaming at her to run, hide, to get away from this place.

Sarah was a young woman who had been bullied and hurt badly almost all her life, it was those senses that had kept her from walking into danger many times.

So Sarah chooses to listen to those senses and gathers her powers without the aid of any shine sprites-

"Mystic Fog!" Screams Sarah dashing forward, she held both arms above her head and began twisting her hands like she was trying to shake some water from them-

The shadow sprites form her Soul Room answered her call.

"Cors!" Sarah roars the last part out- her voice seems to boom around the whole street like thunder at her powerful casting, a gateway opened and a thick fog instantly appears.

The two dimensions were now one and the same.

Sarah almost fell when she heard people let out cries of shock, surprise and terror as they were all suddenly engulfed by this fog.

Sarah hears the sound of light splashes as she ran through the swamp/street- the swamp was deep but the street was just under the surface allowing her to run on it.

Behind her, she hears other feet running through the water. The mucky green plants sticking out of the swamp almost made her trip a couple of times.

A low growl was heard from the distance.

A part of Sarah knew she should not have used the Cors gateway, this place was worst than the Eternal Forest and had monsters that were ranked 'C' to 'E' here. But mostly, this was the home to the Giant Trolls.

Thankfully she could see through the fog since this gateway belonged to her and was connected to her mana until she dispels it.

The shadows of her Soul Roolm began to stir as they felt a new presence.


	20. Discovery Arc: Clone!

Sarah races through the thick fog, she could hear the many cries of the monsters, enraged by this sudden force she had cast out.

Thunder sounded throughout the fog, lightning split the skies above and the sun shone down- two dimensions had overlapped, but the darkness of the fog was winning and the last rays of light faded.

It was fine, most of Sarah's casting she did at night... however, during the summer, she had been using her power during the day and her strength was scary.

The darkness would be no trouble if the ones who followed her were dark bearers since they could see through the darkness... they would easily be able to find a single person.

'Did I overdo it?' Sarah thinks as she kept running, her own fear had gotten the better of her and she cast something powerfully in the middle of a city- she had always been taught that when she gained skill, then she was responsible for it, 'I made a mistake! What if they're not following me?!'

A flash of white caught her eye, turning slightly she sees something coming her way, fast!

Then it happened.

Sarah halts and almost trips over from the sudden stop.

Panting heavily, she peers from under her hood at these people, all dressed in pale white cloaks in front of her.

She could sense the shines that had been smelted within the cloaks, like his cloak of shadows.

These ones had wrapped themselves with these cloak of shines, glowed in the darkness, making her wonder just how she had missed them- even if they were not dark bearers, the shine cloaks would have lit up their path and shown where she was.

"Who are you?" Sarah questions them, taking a step back and rushed noise of splashing and cloth flapping in the wind, makes her glance over her shoulder, she sees more people standing there.

They had encircled her, cutting off all exits.

"Fear not young one," The one in front of her calls over the loud thunder, it starts to gently rain on them and all of the swamp water starts rippling; he takes a step closer, "this is just a routine check, we are asking everyone with a shadow bound cloak a few questions."

"Questions?" Sarah says softly, she gave them all a quick look, no one other than the one speaking had moved.

"Yes, questions." The man says as he reaches up and removes his hood, a kind face man with blonde hair appeared, he had a small easy-going smile and light blue eyes, "We do this every year, there is no need to be nervous. We are well aware that light bearers also travel, even coming to this Festival."

"Oh...? Sorry." Sarah replies feeling herself reddening, she was glad for her hood, "I'm sorry," she says a bit louder, "This is my first visit to this ..er... Festival."

"That's fine, we are used to light bearers running," The man said with a light laugh, "My name is Clooen, I am in charge of this team. This is an interesting gateway you cast, mind if you dispel it?"

"Oh! Of course!" Sarah cries out, she lifts her hands below her hips readying herself to close this gateway, "What questions do you have for me?"

"Are you The Forgotten One?" The smiling Clooen suddenly asks causing Sarah to freeze before she could get rid of the foggy gateway.

"Wait? What?" Sarah asks looking up at the strange man with the stranger question, "What kind of question is that?"

"The kind we asked every year to all bearers." Clooen said that same smile on his face the whole time- it did not reach his eyes.

"You trying to find The Forgotten One? That is what this whole Dark Sense Hearing is all about!" Sarah said shock clearly evident in her voice as she steps back in horror.

"And the kind of reaction we get every year..." Clooen says loudly with a heavy sigh, "Although, you seemed to have worked it out a lot quicker." his tone sounded bored now, "Don't worry you will not memory anything, we have the best water bearers here."

'Water bearers?' Sarah thinks as she steps back once more, 'Water bearers can erase short term memories right?' she frowns not liking the idea of his memories be taken from her, "You are seeking the Forgotten One why? For what reason?!"

"Because our King wants to know." Clooen replies with that same kind smile and a shake of his head, "You people ask this sort of question every year."

"That's not an answer!" Sarah cried out as thunder rocked the heavens above, she notices that the others were coming closer, slowly taking one step at a time when she was not looking their way.

"Its the only one you're going to get," Clooen said sounding completely bored now, he waved a hand and another person in that same pale cloak appeared at her side, "Take this little girl's memories from when she left the train."

'No!' Sarah thinks as she looks all around wildly, 'I have to do something! Wait! I know!' she held her right arm in front of himself, it 'ripped' away from the shadows, though some 'strings' were still attached. With his left arm, he brought it behind, both hands flopped at the wrist.

"What are you doing little girl?" Clooen says with a different kind of smile, seemingly pleased that he was about to do something. He straightens himself up waiting for Sarah to finish her move. Another person behind her laughs, someone sighed heavily from Sarah's right.

Sarah jerks her right arm to her far-right and her left to her left, spreading out her fingers as she did, "Multiply!" She screamed with a loud voice; her formed began to shift, flickering and fading, parting and pulling.

There was another image, wearing the same black shadowy cloak.

Another appeared and another and another and another; soon there was too many to number. Then the many black-cloaked figures kept appearing, the ones around her had stepped back, giving her more room to multiply.

Sarah ran around in the centre of the cloaked people, crisscrossing with her copies in hopes to confuse them and find a way through this tight-knit group.

The many copies of her ran too, each seeming testing the sides as they went as well but they were just mirroring her actions. As she went the water splashes loudly and she was the only one of them making that noise.

She hoped that no one noticed over the sound of the rain and thunder that came now and again.

Sarah wonders if she should use the enchanted rings to make the fog thicker still- that was panic causing her to think like this, the leader was a water bearer, she knew that he could sense it if she used it, since him being a much higher level than her.

"Come on girl! It's just a few minutes of your life!" Clooen shouts as he stands there, some of his teams started darting after the many copies that came their way.

'What should I do?! What should I do?!' Sarah thinks as she continues to run alongside three of her copies, only to jump back with two as one of the light cloaked figures grabs hold of one and it fades, 'This was a trick I was planning to teach Sunny...Sunny? That's it! I'll scare can use one of my monsters!"

Sarah quickly gazes into her mind's eyes, searching through her soul rooms, looking for her elf and skeleton warrior, or even Rocky! Her golem.

However, there she had a big problem.

The shadows she had collected the night before had become so many that it had become pitch black in her rooms and even her window's screens, she could not see a thing.

"Oh no! No!' Sarah thinks when she, at last, realizes that her copies had begun to fade and the cloaked people trapping her had done a good job at keeping them all in their circle.

"You lost girl." Clooen said to her loudly, his smile drop and a look of pure disappointment came upon his face, "Give up."

"No!" Sarah snaps as she felt the shadows within her budge, they were trying to get away, "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" Clooen asks in a dull voice, then seems to think of something and shrugs, "If you must know. We simply calling some shadows to trap you. Come on it gives us something to do."

"You want shadows huh?" Sarah hisses out, she raised her right hand over his head, "Fine I give you shadows! Along with a monster summoning!" she glares at the man, "This is Mystic Fog of Cors, the home of the Gaint Troll Tribe called Bennu!"


	21. Discovery Arc: Death

Sarah forces the shadows out, they flew within the fog. She focuses on finding a Giant Troll, calling to the shadows in her soul to let them know this was what she wanted, unlike what she did in the Eternal Forest when she did not even know what she was after- this should half the time.

Beneath her black shadowy cloak, her skin shone.

Sarah did not use any seals or enchantments like most light bearers did to control the shadows, while shadow did like light bearers, they would not listen to them- for some reason, they did Sarah for certain tasks.

However, to reinforce this command, Sarah used the Light Soul Light.

Each bearer kind could do many things the other could not but modern era with new techniques and the sharing of skills, other bearers were able to so castings they otherwise were not able to do.

So it must have come to no surprise that the 'little girl' could control the shadows.

What surprised the bearers in the area was the large number.

It was thought that monsters and sprites were linked. It was thought that sprites were more powerful than monsters.

Whatever the case, sprites could bound a monster with a seal of the caster's choice, they would open the gateways of the Phantom Zone, they could aid bearers to bring out their element mana to actually cast until the humans was a high enough level to do so themselves.

Dark bearers were feared because shadows had more power in bounding monsters than any other sprites, so in the past, they had more monsters had their side.

Light and shines were feared for another reason. It could protect and kill.

Lights power could become an unstoppable force. A light bearers' light was felt to have been built upon emotion, this could mean the difference between a strong or weak reaction of the same casting at two different times.

And Sarah's fear was currently fusing her power.

The shadows of Sarah raged out searching for the monster their master wanted, the gateway was strong enough to bring the monsters to their plane and soon they found what they were looking for.

Then men had enough and dart forward, from under their cloaks they brought out short swords. 

On seeing this Sarah leaps back, just getting out of the way in time as a sword swung past her head.

Another came from behind, the pale cloaked man had a sword above his head and striking it downwards; Sarah cloak got hit, the shadows that made it up easily protected her.

"You did bring this on yourself!" Clooen shouts out lightly, sounding tired.

Behind her eyes, Sarah sees a flicker in her Soul Room and almost cries out in relief.

Gritting her teeth and bending down to her knees, touching the watery ground to lay her fingertip on the street. A small smile spreads upon her lips and she closes her eyes, summoning her monster.

Her rock golem Rocky appears in front of her.

The rock monster raises a fist and slams it down on the street and sending water everywhere- it also sends a shock wave across the concrete broke and went outsides like a rippling effect, making some them fall over while some jumped as it came towards them.

The rain was getting heavier now. The rain hitting the water was becoming deafening.

While her golem kneeled after hitting the ground, she kept between its legs, it crossed its arms over in front of its master.

"We need to get out of here!" Sarah calls over the rain, glancing around the fog was making it hard to see where the building began now, the cloak men were circling her again, "Before they summon their own monsters! Did you see Calixtus?"

The monster did not answer- Sarah smiles, she really did not know why she spoke to these creatures as they could understand her.

The monster did not try to reply to a different reason, it did not know how to respond to this. All the golems former masters had never talked to it normally...

...so was it really allowed to answer?

" _Coming_..." Came a rumbling sound from the golem, trying Sarah's head turn in surprise.

'Did I imagine that?' Sarah wonders to herself, she nods to the monster and smiles her thanks just in case, 'Monster, or these kind of monsters, don't know how to talk or even think right?' The rain had been so loud she was not even sure that rumble was even a word, it sounded like it....

'It said 'coming'...' Sarah thinks as she goes closer to the monster, some of the cloaked men were testing its strength by throwing attack castings at it, 'Meaning that Calixtus might not even be in my soul!'

Sarah's eyes widen at this.

"Wait!" Sarah cries out suddenly, "Thanks Rocky! I now know I can summon Calixtus normally!"

Reaching down she finds the leather coin holder and brings out Calixtus's summoning coin. Pushing her index and middle finger onto the image of the coin, she starts to summon.

A large glow appears in front of her and Rocky, it breaks away and Calixtus stood in its place, his long double edge sword at the ready.

Seeing him the pale cloak men ran at her elf warrior, however, the monster's skill was above their level and easily deflected their attacks; he ran in the midst of them with his sword pointing downwards, the tips scraping against the watery ground, he brought into an upwards slash, striking their blades and knocking them off balance.

It was one of the things Sarah liked about Calixtus's race, they never went in for the kill unless it was a direct order. Which was why Sarah had chosen him- she had heard horror stories of when during war class, a monster misinterpreted some orders and students dying.

Sarah shivers at the thought of dying young, it was a real reality for her and she wanted to live as long as she was able.

Sarah gazes around from the safety of her golem. Some of her shadows were not searching and was causing mayhem around the area, blinding them, tripping them up and smacking against them- some of the cloaked men chased after when so a few could battle.

A sudden roar sounded.

Sarah sharpy turns her head around in time to her Elf Warrior raising his sword up against the mouth of a dragon; the sword was stuck within the dragon's mouth, the point vanishing into the flesh all the way up to the hilt.

The dragon pulls back slightly, pouring blood down the sword, making it sticky and hard to hold as it covers the elf's hold.

The elf was pushed back as the dragon tried to free itself, taking Calixtus with it, his feet dragged back over the ground him it managed to stay upright.

The dragon manages to free itself from the blade and strike at him again, this time Calixtus turns his sword sideways, catching the jaws with the pointy end and the hilt, with his hands almost flat against the sword as he tries to push it back.

Calixtus forced the mouth away from him and taking hold of the hilt once more, using both hands for a huge swing.

Sarah was about to cast to aid and buff her elf' stats when movement caught her eye- something threw a blast right at her. Rocky shields her completely; the blast proved to powerfully for her golem and she saw cracks and heard the cracking noises.

Sarah could not heal her golem, it had taken a lot of hard work and a master class with a skilled earth bearer, during the summer, to be able to fix him.

Grabbing her golem's coin, she returns the weaken monster to her Soul Room and not to the Phantom Zone, if another monster found it in this state; she wanted no more damage to come to it.

Sarah could not summon his skeletons, two were servants skeletons and the other one sleeping deeply under the tree, she had discovered that her skeletons could heel with her drus dryad over them- Skully had been damaged when in a mock battle with her elf to raise his stats a few days ago.

Placing the coin back into her leather pouch, she brings out her remaining monster coin to summon... Sunny her blob- she did not summon it just yet.

"You may be strong and have good castings, but you are young," Clooen shouts from over the sound of swords crashing together, "No amount of power can give you experience."

Sarah says nothing, merely glares at him.

Shadows belonging to Clooen zoom pass and wrap around his arms, then he threw his arms behind him and in a form of a black shadow, a monster steps out.

A monster called a Voice Dragon roars, the strength of its voice sent the waters surrounding them in every direction in a wave, revealing the concrete street beneath and the water plants drop, some of the trees in the distance shook and the glass of the building broke inwardly.

Sarah had kneeled down and held her hands over her ears without thinking and stares at the monster was a fleshly colour, reminding her of a featherless bird.

It was as big as a house, it stepped over its master bringing its neck down to stare Sarah in the face, it titled head when it saw the human taking slow step backward. While it could not see the small human's face, it could smell the fear.

Sarah screams as the mouth opened, she fell and landed on her rear still staring up at the monster. Her Elf Warrior was gritting his teeth and staring over to him, he still had the other dragon blocking his path and could not get to his master.

Sarah glances down quickly at the coin in her hand, her little blob was not as strong as her golem, it would not survive. Making a choice, she places the coin back in the pouch and looks into the dragon, deciding to fight it herself.

Raising her arms up and opening her mouth, she starts to cast.

Suddenly Clooen was in front of her blocking the dragon from view, he took a step forward walking into Sarah body almost like he was going to hug her, however, he brings out a short sword and stabbed the teen right into her chest.

Stunned Sarah just stands there, the older man took a few steps back with a heavy sigh and takes out a large white rag from a sub-space and starts wiping his sword down of blood.

Sarah touches the painful area in her chest with her right hand, she stared wide-eyed in disbelief as she looked down at the red shining liquid staining her hand.

As she wonders why her cloak failed to protect her from this attack, she fell hard to her knees. Falling face down on the concrete ground, the waters slowly began returning, covering half of her face.

Sarah gasp she felt herself grown weaker by the second, her body becoming cold and her heartbeat slows down and the fog around him as the gateways slowly start to dispel.

Tears run down her face as she felt the moment his heart stopped.

'I don't want to die,' Were her final thoughts as she closes her soulless glass eyes. 


	22. Discovery Arc: The Troll

Clooen stares at down the lifeless body on the ground, the shadowy cloak was still clinging to the young girl's form. He glances at his own monster who was now hovering over the Elf Warrior, the monster was still fighting as if it's master life was on the line.

Clooen's men had now relaxed, leaving the two dragons to wander around the swordsman. But something was wrong, very wrong. The man gazes around at the dark damp fog trying to work out what was amiss.

The elf manages to break away from the men and monsters and rushed to its master's side, bending down on one knee, his sword still held high.

"How sweet," Clooen says as he walks closer he waves his dragon over, "It is rare to see a loyal monster, most are not here by choice anymore. How about I make you mine?" He smiles at the elf's enraged face, "Now I sealed you as my own!"

Clooen rose his arms and cast shadows to blind the monster, however, the shadows never reached the elf. The shadows broke away and returned to him.

"What's this!?" Clooen hisses out, stepping back in shock, "Why are you still bound?!"Suddenly he knew what was wrong. The fog, the gateway was still around; it had faded slightly, but it was not completely gone. It should have gone when the girl died.

A wet cough came, the small dark-cloaked girl groans loudly.

Then she made noises like she was vomiting, turning he sees blood pouring out from the hood. The elf readies himself as his master stands and facing him.

Sarah rose and glares at the man from under her hood, she had not thought she would actually be stabbed, only for them to try and take her memories away.

"Experience?" Sarah chocks out, the blood made her mouth taste like copper, "Trust me when I say, I have enough experience when it comes to overgrown bullies."

"How?" Clooen demands as he steps out and ushers his monster closer, preparing it for an attack.

"Does not matter now." Sarah says darkly as she raises both hands above her head, "You have bigger things to worry about!"

Sarah's many shadows had returned, bringing with them a young Gaint Troll, one that appeared never been sealed before.

It was huge, bigger than her house, it had a purple body with grey outer and glowing green eyes. It stares down at Sarah hissing and clucking its jaw; paying no attention to this, she takes her blank coin out and began to seal the monster.

Sarah used her full force something that she rarely did, shadows and shines fused together and encased the monster's body; it then was drugged into the small coin in her hand, a flicker and the image of the Giant Troll appears.

Sarah was breathing hard by the time it had ended, she glances over to Clooen who was standing with a smirk on his face.

"You fool. You tried yourself out!" Clooen shouts to her, "There no way you can summon a monster after sealing it!"

"You want to bet?" Yuugi said with a strong voice, causing Clooen to glare, the man's smirk dropped, "I Summon my Giant Troll!"

A bright flash of light filled the area. Giant Troll was back growling towards the dragon before it."It's not possible!" Clooen screams out in shock, those around him also cried out.

"Giant Troll! Takedown their monsters!" Sarah screams loudly, the monster listened, which surprised even her; she read that monsters sealed for the first time do not normally listen to the first orders- and the drus dryad only listened because it was an older monster that lived a long life, no doubt had lots of masters in the past. Sarah had only summoned on the large monster to scare them off.

Sarah shifts over to her elf and leans against her side, she watches in silence as the pale cloaked men called more monsters to fend off the mighty beast. Their shouts and cries filled the dark fog, which joined together with the roars of the Troll.

"We have to get out of here..." Sarah moans out as she tries to think where to run, she did not know the city well enough to hide in it and she was weakening; she had used a powerfully healing, summoned two monsters, sealed one and then summoned it.

'I can still move... the healing worked on its own, I did not even have cast it.' Sarah thinks as she glances down at her hands, she was drained but still strong enough to stand. "It only took my breath away, I can still cast!"

Sarah moves forward with her loyal elf at her side, she looks towards Clooen who was casting at his Troll.

Movement in her Soul Room causes Sarah to pause for a moment, Sunny was trying to get out. Frowning Sarah sends thoughts of comfort to her smallest monster, she blinks when she felt the ball pushing a thick book against the sides of his soul's wall.

'Transfer?' Sarah thinks, in her mind's eye she could see the very book she taught herself how to transfer the monster, 'What good in that?'

Giant Troll was completely surrounded by monsters, less powerfully monsters but their number could drag it down.

Without thinking Sarah casts his pillars of light around her elf and herself, causing everyone to turn her way. Clooen stared at her like she had grown a second head. The pillars were no longer the size of pencils, they were thick and the as tall of a full-grown man.

All men dressed in pale cloaks arrived, they charged at her Giant Troll, coins at the ready now aiming for the kill. Some came to her as well, surrounding her and waiting for the swords of light wear off.

Sarah grits her teeth as she felt her blob slamming that same book on her wall, jerking her, she did not know what her monster wanted.

Then it appeared.

A small thought wormed into her mind.

'Transfer me...' Sarah blinks, it was crazy, it was insane and for her to try it when she was not in top form was plan suicidal.

'Die by their hands, or die at my own.' Sarah thinks as she stands tall, 'I want to choose the where and when I die!'

Taking a sharp intake of breath, taking in all her shadows as she did; Sarah dispelled the gateway. The thick fog and watery area was gone and once again they were in the centre of the city; the streets were empty apart from them.

Next, she withdraws her elf, who closed her eyes and bows slightly as he faded within her. After came Giant Troll, who blinked in confusion when it faded- the cloaked men rush over to her, encircling her.

Waiting for anything, this time taking her seriously.

Sarah sighs gathering her remaining light together, her thoughts went back to her map he looked at earlier. With that in mind, she starts casting the transfer. Balls of light shone into existence and slowly rounding her to start with, but they slowly got faster and faster.

The men were bracing themselves, clearly thinking this was an attack.

Sarah saw it again, the book shop she wanted to go to on her map.

Focusing solely on that she did not see her pillars breaking away. A hot white light came off of her in waves, causing the men to back away trying to cover their watering eyes. Some of the men darted forward, short swords raised for the kill. As they swung their sword through the air, the black cloak vanished leaving them nothing to strike; They fell with lose of balance, right onto the hard ground.


	23. Discovery Arc: No! Alive!

' _I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead._ ' Sarah's mind kept repeating, her body felt dull and her head was causing her a lot of pain, 'I'm.. de- ad... Wait! Pain!'

Sarah's eyes opened wide and she stared.

She was looking at what appeared to be a bottom of a bookshelf, an old wooden frame and the bottom of books was in her line of sight. Frowning she pushes herself up from the floor where she was lying face down; she gazed around, on both sides was towering bookshelves, filled with books of all shapes and sizes.

Sarah stares and stares.

'What... what happened?' Sarah asks herself dully as she slowly gets up, by places her palms on the floor then one hand on knee, she pushed upwards. She let out a light hiss, her limbs felt stiff as if her whole circulation in her body had been cut off. Wobbling over to the shelves she grabs on and straightens herself.

"I got stabbed in the chest..." Sarah mumbles numbly, she quickly threw away her cloak into her soul room and looks down, both hands were on her chest, she tucked her chin as far as it could go. There was a tear in her top, drying blood had run down and covered her belly.

"I didn't cast my healing... so how?" Sarah asks to the bookshelf in front of her, "Wait! I know! Of course. There was a talk about it once if a person continuously uses their power, some powers can happen on reflex!"

Sarah ponders deeply upon this, reaching into her Soul Room she brings out a small cutting knife. Without fear she runs it down her arm, thick rich red blood oozed out. She stares at it for a moment, the pain was overpowering her senses making her want to cry out.

It happened.

Without her even casting the skin around her wounds shone like tiny diamonds, the bleeding stopped and her skin began to fuse together, yellow, blue and black bruises appear and disappear in a matter of seconds. Sarah felt her power run out of her slightly, she wobbles more.

A smile came upon her worn face, which quickly was wiped away when she remembered why she was standing there in the first place.

"I was attacked!" Sarah breathes out as a wave of dizziness washed over her, "I..I _transferred_ myself?!" Excitement and fear run through her mind, she wanted to run away from where she was; "I have to get away from here... I'm not wearing my cloak ......and-"

Sarah leans forwards and places her forehead against a shelf that she was level with, closing her eyes she tries to calm herself down.

"My cloak was what drew them to me," Sarah spoke in amazement, "And my light is so small now I can't even feel it. I'll be mistaken for a 'barren'!"

'Barren' humans were those who were from a bearers family yet could not touch their own gift. "That could work..."

Sarah forces herself off the shelves and wandered down the narrow path that leads into a large chamber; bookshelves were above her and below her, a hole was in the centre and she could see all the floors above right up to the glass ceiling.

"Excuse me," Sarah calls to a brown-haired woman was walking with a trolley of books, she was dressed in a light blue suit with white lines running through it, "Can you show me where a restroom?"

"Yes," The woman says never taking her eyes off of a piece paper that she held in her hand, with her free hand she points to her left, "There is one two rows that way, at the end. You should start seeing a sign for it once you leave this point anyway."

"Thank you very much," Sarah replies with an unbalanced movement, this she did not notice, the woman had already started to make her way down a different row. 'I transferred...' Sarah's mind whispers to her gently, she could not believe at this moment, she felt to drain to even give a cheer.

Sarah carefully walked towards the restroom, keeping close to the edges case she should fell and not get up, something that she felt she could not do at this moment of time- she was sure she could collapse later in his hotel room.

'I transferred.' Sarah's mind tells her once more, she felt a shiver run down her spine- a dizzy spell came over her and she had to wait for it to fade before moving again.

She noticed the signs as she reached the point, they were clearly marked in three different languages. Glancing around she sees no people about, she could hear them somewhere in the distance, but no one was actually near him.

Noticing the opening archway to the restroom Sarah sighs, she forces herself to move a little faster now that her goal was in sight of her. As she got there she first moves was to sign for the 'ladies', however, she pauses to stare at the 'disabled's' restroom, she went in these a few times in the past when his grandmother was unwell and needed help getting up and down, she knew that they would be big and spacious.

Changing her course slightly she heads for the larger room, opening it she hurries inside and closes it shut behind her then locking it, she quickly walks over to the sink and held onto the side. There was a mirror above and she saw her face, a deadly shade of grey, blood was on both corners of her mouth as well as right before. She could see her chest better now, it did not look good.

"I transferred!" Sarah told her reflection with a small exhausted smile, she hums to herself tiredly as she rips her top off her body with a thought, then the rest of her clothes and belongings. Soon she stood there naked, she carefully glances into the mirror and at the door, worried that those pale cloaked men were going to crash through any moment.

Reaching over she let the hot tap run, she brings a handkerchief from her sub-space into her hand and soaks it. Then she slowly starts cleaning her body, the blood had left a bloody circle on her chest and stomach; she did not bother with soap, she was too tired to care, the only thing she wanted to was clean it as best she could.

Studying her chest, she sees that all that was left was a thin scar.

Finishing her front she opens a window and searching through her clothes- she rose an eyebrow when she noticed that was laying something out for him on her sofa, making it easy to grab and all it over to her image on the window screen.

"Thanks!" Sarah calls to him lightly, her voice sounded rough now that she had raised it.

With a small flash, she was dressed in some warm clothes. Even though it was summer she was grateful for the dark blue jumper and long black trousers, she felt like she had no blood in her body at the moment. Feeling worried she bought her hand up to her neck and placed on her pulse, and breathe a sigh of relief as she felt the weak throb there.

"I'll take a little nap," Sarah says remembering seeing large sofas during her walk here, "... but first, let's rinse that blood taste out of my mouth."


	24. Discovery Arc:Crafting A Signet!

Sarah had not wanted to leave the giant bookshop, she feared that once she did, she would be discovered- she had already slept three hours after waking up from her 'nap' and lunch had already past.

She quickly found out that this giant building had everything she needed, there was a restaurant, toilets, a shower room, a capsule room where people could sleep and a roof with sunbeds on them.

The reason why people almost live in this place, was because some books were not sold. Older books were kept and people would buy thick blank books with ink and sit for days carefully writing the contents of their chosen book.

Sarah smiles at this, she thought this was a brilliant idea.

The times she went to a rare bookshop and seen two or more men fighting to get their hands on it. Of course, some books themselves held power, the older the written words the stronger it was.

Words had power, names had power; casting in an old language could have a richer outcome than said in a modern tongue.

It was one of the reasons Sarah's grandmother had taught her words of the ancients, a powerful weapon should she ever choose to use it.

Another thing that people did for the unlimited might; was their name signet.

A person's signet was something that defines that one, and most when to the ends of the world to make one for themselves.

Sarah first month of high school had been her teachers explaining the importance of making one and there were special classes for research and drawing practice- after the summer all first-years should have their personal seal ready and no longer use their family's signet seal.

It was actually common for to make their signet with added languages of old, though some did not even know what they had written down, choosing style and design over safety and value. This was a very dangerous thing to do.

Every period of time had a different signet that historians could pick pin to- can generation was going to go down as having a blend of different formats...

Sarah was sitting at a desk right next to a window, hot sunlight poured through; she was trying to draw strength from it, replacing the light mana she had lost. At the same time, what she did not want to do was gain to much power for her to be noticeable.

Turning back to the desk, or rather the computer on the desk, she starts checking through her list.

A list of every book she thought she needed; she was planning to write them out, she had the rest of summer.

However, she was not sure if he wanted to stay anymore, even with this bait here- but her love of learning love out over her fear and she made her choice.

Sarah quickly researched Name Signet.

While she was planning to finish her signet at the very end of the summer, she wanted her own signet just now, after what had happened. With only a family signet and not her true name, people could actually steal her monsters.

The only reason Clooen had not was because he thought he was 'sealing' an unclaimed monster, the man could have broken through if he used the right casting.

Every child was raised to think carefully at some point, their signet was something that would be with them their whole lives and follow them wherever they go.

While they can get their signet in the first high of high school, most get them at the final year- a number of factors decide this. The teachers grading them, the students' behaviour towards signets and their families.

Those who wanted to only gain power knew that the older the seal, the more powerful it was- like that with words. For families that had old signets, some power-hungry youths would take that and add their own name into it.

There were also ones who did the opposite; teens who together stick to the trends, making hard shapes and adding to it lots of pretty words that held no meaning when strung together.

Sarah going much deeper.

She had found an old signet with runes of Atlantis, she had studied it intensely- this was meant to be 'forbidden' but there was a lot of people of did this. While she could not understand out how to speak it out loud, her historian blood in her worked out their meanings.

'Light' and 'Princess' was what she was after. She also worked out 'and', 'the', 'when', 'a', 'to' and 'of'.

Sarah did these with the five ancient scripts she knew.

And formed the words 'The Princess of Light'- which was actually her e-mail address, her user name for most of her online gaming and anything else that she needed to sign up for on the internet.

Sarah's seal had an Atlantis base and near the centre was 'The Princess of Light' along with Atlantis's protective and defenses runes.

The other ancient runs up throughout the lines of the 'star' and circles in between this 'star', again with the 'The Princess of Light' and runes of that language.

She filled every space- on the outer parts were newer runes, completely covered in Japanese, Chinese, Welsh and English; the four modern languages she knew.

And much further apart, her 'Light' name. A name is hidden with a cast so that no one could see it- Sarah wonders if the Forgotten One's name being blocked was some kind of powerful form of this.

Sarah -'Light'- Hikari.

Every bearer had his or her own bearer's name, often called 'True Name'.

Sarah's grandmother had been the one to chose this name for her. It would go down to the grave with the old woman; the only one who should ever know it would be her future partner- it was commonplace not even to do that in the past fifty years.

"Circles are old school," Sarah says aloud, she did not really pay much attention to it when the drawing seal classes started, but now thinking about it, she did not want a circle. ...although what she had up to now was based on circles.

Sarah stares at her notes... she had filled a whole notebook worth of writing.

"My signet is busy," Sarah mumbles, she thinks about the words the went into it, finding a placement was going to be a challenge if she decided to go with a different shape, "But at least mine holds meaning."

Sarah held a hand over her heart.

Every year since she could understand, she was told that she might not live to see her next birthday. It was one of the main things that fueled her desire to know everything about the worlds around her. Soon she found certain interests and focused her attention learning and mastering these.

History, games and improving her light power were what she wanted to do more than anything. However, in the past few months, she found other things that captured her interests.

A slow smile graces her lips, her thought went to her dear friend Joanna.

The werewolf did not yet know, Sarah only hoped to leave Joanna with some happy memories.

...Amy knew... one of Sarah's fears on asking her out was that she would do so out of pity.

Sarah half wondered if her ruthless bullies would stop if they realized they wound a dying girl.

'I want to live,' Sarah thinks sadly, staring out of the window, 'I want to live and die by my own terms.'

Sighing loudly, she forces her thought to return to the computer's screen in front of her, researching ways to write faster. There was a cast for almost everything in the world, so, why not this too.

And she had found what she wanted, a mix of water and dark bearers' ability was needed. Sarah held up her left hand and gazes at her thumb, it was the water-based ring she smelted. It seemed so long ago suddenly, but it must have been about four or five months ago.

Sarah closes her eyes and looked for a willing shadow. She smiles when one came and floats in front of her screen in her Soul Room, awaiting orders.

Her smiles drop and she stands, taking her list and notebook with her. She needs to buy some blank books for herself. As she went along, her purple eyes dart wildly around.

'I've been trying to keep my mind off it,' Sarah thinks bitterly, heading for the shop in this 'bookshop', 'About my memories. I kind of understand why the Dark King wants his memories back. I mean, the thought of me losing even a few minutes of mine made me feel sick.'

Sarah the counter up ahead, she hurries forward while there was no one around.

'I wonder if it's because our memories made up part of who we are?' Sarah wonders darkly, 'If I lost part of my memories, that part of me has died. And I don't want to die...'

Sarah smiles tightly at the woman behind the counter, she was wearing the clothes as the other she had first met when looking for the restroom. This one had short black hair with odd blue eyes, a deep frown was on both her lips and brow.

"Welcome. How can I help you?" The woman asks as she nears her, she looked sourer than before.

"Afternoon," Sarah says with a quick nod, "I am on table 45w75, I would like these books please, also I would like some blanks."

"Will you be needing ink?" The woman asks as she starts typing onto her computer in front of her.

"I have water and dark bearing items with me," Sarah told her, rubbing her other thumb over the ringed one.

"Very good," The woman replies in a bored tone, "You may return to your seat, a member of staff will be with you shortly."

"Thank you very much." Sarah answers to that and turns to make her way back to the table. Her mind was whirling around with all these different thoughts; questions, answers, what she wanted to do, what she needed to do, how she could do this and deep pondering over her signet, transfer and memories.

"Oh!" Sarah says as she reaches the table and flops down into the seat, "I best phone Amy and inform her I might not be back for dinner."


	25. Discovery Arc: Blooming Blossoms!

It was meant to be a hot summer and it was, the sun still shone brightly on the city, its rays bringing the intense heat along with it. However, the skies above were not clear, there was something like thick snow pouring down from the heavens, coating the city in a blanket of pinks.

Yet what fell was not snow, it was cherry blossoms.

Sarah raises an eyebrow to the still falling blossoms and sighs.

She had caused this.

A few days ago she had found a cast for snow from an old book he was writing out and of course, wanted to test it out.

Sarah had started small, playing in her capsule room she had been staying in, filling the small space with cool snow. Causing snow to fall was something that was an advanced water beater who was skilled with shadows could do.

And something a light bearer should not be able to do.

This cast was like a bypass for the modern ways and used tools- given how old the book was, it was from a time when all bearers first started sharing their skills.

So with confidence, Sarah went to the rooftop and performed it on a much larger scale; just over the building and nowhere else.

...it had worked!

And right away stopped the casting when a small pile of snow covered the rooftop she was on. An hour later she saw what she thought had been rain, that came with a distance thunder- gazing out of the window... it snowed.

Rushing to the roof she quickly discovered it was not snow but blossom. It was just a light shower and tried to dispel. It went away...

...and came back the very next day.

Sarah was sitting on the rooftop, at one of the many tables that were placed there- a protective shield was around the building, stopping any high winds from blowing at the books that people read here.

On her table was the copy of the old book she had written out, rereading it word for words, trying to find where it went astray.

Somehow she had managed to cast it wrong.

"Ugh! Where did I go wrong!?" Sarah groans out loudly, it was not like things did go right all the time, she practices long and hard to do things correctly and some castings could take months to perfect.

It was just this type of casting needed to be on a large scale, open area and up high; so this might be a once in a lifetime thing to get do hence played around it in the evenings before trying it out.

Sarah drags the books into her sub-space, deciding to take a break. She had been staring down at the words of her own 'handwriting' for ages... the water ring and shadows had helped writing it out but she would going at a snail's pace.

Well... at least, it's not as hot as before..." Sarah mumbles to herself; cooling the lonely rooftop where she had done most of her writings, what she had been trying to do. It was not snow but it semi-blocked the sun.

With a sigh, she looks over the city on the high rooftop- on the building next to her, she could see people shouting and pointing to the skies.

Sarah knew it would only be a matter of time before someone else tries to dispel her casting. She was still weakened, so any powerful caster should be able to fix her mistake.

Now that she was taking a break from rereading that snow casting, Sarah turns her gaze to the next book to write from. Over the past two and a half days, she had written out twenty books. Sarah's mind starts to drift, her focus on the task not quite there.

She had left the comfort of the hotel to move into a capsule room in the 'bookshop', it had forty capsule beds on one wall alone. Because of the Dark Sense Hearing, almost all were filled during the late-night and mornings.

The people around her were still 'talking' about what happened on the opening day- she watched as they kept their heads down and spoke about it in a hushed tone; it was only because she knew what happened, did she know, if something else had happened and she went about as normal, she would not give anything these people did a second thought.

Amy did not seem to mind her moving out of the room her parents had paid for- she even offered to pay for the capsule room, which Sarah turned down.

Sarah phoned her parents to say sorry but she wanted to write from some books and they did not seem to care; this again, makes her questions the reasons for asking her to go with Amy in the first place.

'It had to be some sort of rule to bring a non-ally.' Sarah thinks as she gave her hand a wave around in the air, doing a small cast to cool down the area around- her weaken state seemed to have given her a temperature.

Then blinks whens she notices the blossoms in the sky fell harder, this time blocking more of the sun.

'Is this even mine?' Sarah wonders to herself, she gazes towards the adults on the rooftop on the next building, 'No. That can't have been me. It must just be them trying to fix it...'

Sarah brings out the book once more, opening up the pages she studies it. The blossoms came down harder right after she had finished casting and worst when she reinforced it with her wave movement.

...So it might be from her?

Sarah really could play it off as it not being her.

"What in the name of ha'des is going on!?" Sarah snaps angrily at last; her light mana had been acting weird. Even since she 'died' it was not keeping up with her or doing the wrong casting, she put it down to her using it right after she was drained when she normally would rest for a couple of hours after using such powerful skills.

Sarah knew she should have waited before trying to do any 'writings' using her powers to control shadows and droplets, two things that commonly, light bearers had no place even doing. Using these coupled with her near drained of mana might have caused the same casting to happen in the skies...

Shaking her head, she decides to return the books, all were now covered in the pink blossoms making it impossible to read.

Sighing, she rose up and made a quick swiping motion with her hand, placing the books into her Soul Room, then walks across the rooftop and through the double doors, leading back into the building.

"Just stop!" Sarah hisses to the blossoms, then slammed the door with a huff- they did not listen to her enraged plea.

Sarah quickly makes her way over to some table and takes a there, he swipes his arm over the surface and the books reappear. He had five blank books left and there were sixty-three books he still wanted to write from.

What she really needed was money... there was nowhere he could get it.

Sarah really could not sell any of her smelts good, seals, charms or enchantments because of different rules and jurisdictions. And the money she had left was going towards living expensive... given she could go back to the hotel and take Amy's food and make packed lunches- all the stuff in the hotel was free for Amy...

The 'writings' with shadows and water took up less time than she thought once she got the hang of it; if she had the money she probably would have been able to write out every book they had to offer... but then again, she only had until the end of the summer, which was three week- the Dark Sense Hearing lasted a week and she had been planning just to hang out with Amy at the waterfront after that.

"Ugh. What to do. What to do." Sarah grumbles to herself, she leans back in her seat and closed her eyes.

"Excuse me?" A soft voice asks, opening her eyes and turning Sarah stares at a young woman and two boys around her age behind, "Are you Sarah Hikari?"

"I am." Sarah answers trying to sound polite- feeling a knot of fear in her stomach, she forces a smile on her lips, "Have we met?"

"No, we have been hired to aid you," The woman explains with a smile, "We have already been paid in full as well as been given blank books."

"Wait! What?!" Sarah cries out as she stands up, glances between all three al them, "What do you mean? Hired? Blank books? Who hired you?"

"We don't know," The woman says glances over at the two younger men, she quickly reaches into her handbag and began searching for something, "We were contacted through e-mail; we are a scholars group. We help those seeking knowledge and understanding; if any wants aid writing out books to many for them to do, we get sent out to give them a helping hand."

The young woman pulls out a small case and takes out a card, handing it over to Sarah, she carefully takes it off of her and studies to the details. It was the scholar's business card for them as a group.

"So you're here to help me write out the books I want." Sarah questions firmly, she looks up and stares at her. She was not a pretty woman, a long sweaty nose, blue greasy loose hair, overly large round glasses that made her face look thin. She was dressed in a simple yellow dress, an orange handbag was over one shoulder.

One young man behind her had short green hair with light green eyes; he had a strong jaw with a small beard coming through. He wore dark colours, a dark grey top with black and red shorts. The other had long blonde hair, tied up at the base of his neck. He had a long face and tired looking bored blue eyes, he was wearing a white shirt rolled up past his elbows with pale blue trousers on.

"And you have blank books with you?" Sarah asks, the young woman quickly nods with a kind smile, which she returns. "And you are sure its for me, Sarah Hikari?"

"Yes, in the e-mail they described what you looked like as well." She told her, not seeing how uneasy she was by that, "Oh! I'm Baak Kunigonde, I am a water bearer that strong with shadows," she turns and held up a hand to the darkly dressed man, "This is Denzel Gunther, a dark bearer."

Turning to the other man, she says, "And this is Gosselin Augustin, a water bearer. There would have been more of us, but with the Dark Sense Hearing happening at the moment most people want to be there for it."

"That's fine," Sarah replies with a tight smile and held out she hand to shake to each of theirs' firmly, "It is very nice to meet you all, thank you for taking the time to come here during your important holiday."

"That's okay!" Baak told her with her calming soft voice, "We already have a list of the ones you have done, now shall we begin."

"One thing before we start," Sarah says keeping her smile on her face, her mask well and truly up now she had gotten over the surprise.

"Yes?" Baak answer, the other two that already wandered off getting things ready.

"What is the name of the e-mail address that sent you to me?" Sarah questions sweetly, trying to make it sound it was no big deal, "You said everything was brought and paid for right?"

"Yes, that's right." Baak responds after she thinks about it, "And the e-mail address of the one who requested we aid you is 'ThePrincessOfLight at so-and-so dot nz dot net'."


	26. Discovery Arc: Don't Panic

"Don't panic." Sarah told herself for the hundredth time- she forms words down onto the blank book; the book she was copying here was about a kingdom that was completely destroyed by 'White Death', a deadly sickest that attacks light bearers' bodies, causing them to rot from the inside out.

"Just because the person who sent the money to these people to help me has the _same_ e-mail address as me, does not mean a thing," Sarah said firmly to herself, nodding her head as she continues to say the same things yet again- she was so confused.

It had been three days since the three scholars came to help her, two more scholars came and when now and again.

At the end of the day, they would pile the written books in front of her and she would place them in her Soul Room, while they thought she simply had an item that had a powerful sub-space. When she went to sleep in her capsule bed, she would go into her soul room and bring them into her library, she was always happy when she noticed that Calixtus and Sunny had taken what they could into there already, ready for her to sort out and place.

Turning the pages over she carefully let the shadows and droplets run over, before moving it to the blank book.

"I even checked my history!" Sarah hisses, she continues talking in a low voice to herself, "There _was_ an e-mail sent out, along with _my_ own bank details, paying the money out to them!"

Sarah frowns, she had done a lot of digging. A lot of money had been placed into her bank on the same day as the Dark Sense Hearing's opening. Enough money to buy many blank books and hire some people to help her.

It was surprising how fast they were, they could do something like fifty in an hour, while she could only do four. At the pace they were going at, they would finish the whole bookshop by the end of the week, leaving her with the rest summer to do whatever she needed.

...with everything that had happened, it was making her head spin and she could not keep up with all that was going on.

Sarah also wanted to try the transfer skull once more- something she had dared not do in this place. She has almost completely recovered her strength and felt ready to give it a go.

However, being at full power again meant that her light shone brightly.

Sarah had a plan and thought she needed to smelt it into the cloak. But! Discovered that it was already built-in.

The cool shadows were wrapped tightly around her body, making it look like she was wearing leather. A pure black leather vest, leather pants, boots and blinding around her arms and wrists.

It did the trick.

She actually recalls one of the no-name scholars looking at her in surprise at her tight clothing, the saying in a low voice to her colleague that she thought Sarah was a _child_ and even called her a ' _mental midget_ ' under her breath.

Sarah did not care, yeah, it was not her style... but then again she never really had a 'style', it was only after meeting Joanna and going out the house more did she start truly thinking about what she wore; when she returned she had hoped to try on different clothes to see what suited her the best.

...Sarah could rule out black leather from her list...

But it did not matter what it looked like now because Sarah's light was hidden well enough; and since there were no pale cloaked dressed men running into the building demanding her memories or life, she was happy that she was safe for now.

Leaving her to worry about everything else.

To Baak, Denzel and Gosselin, she had been asking innocent questions about the Dark Sense Hearing in amongst her normal chatter, not enough to make them suspicious, or at least she hoped, just to get some answer and see their reactions.

It appeared to Sarah, that every alley of dark bearers and dark bearers themselves was trained not to let anything slip.

Sarah reaches up with both hands and rubs her temples with both her index and middle fingers, around and around. She wanted to scream at this point, ever since she came to this city it was one thing after the next.

"Right, focus on the White Death." Sarah mumbles to herself as she lowers her hands and stares down at the words on the pages, "White Death."

She wanted to learn all she could about herself, wanting to know how to use her power to the full before it kills her. But she did not just want to learn the good, but the bad as well.

Sarah sighs heavy, she was secretly hunting for a cure.

She wanted to die a little old woman in her bed surround by her loved ones, not a young woman having no one know of her nor be sad of her passing.

There were only a few people who would be sad. Her grandmother, Joanna and Amy... maybe all her teachers, they just bully her too but at the beginning of the summer when the school broke up, one teacher said she was a joy to teach and that most of the other teachers thought so.

Sarah smiles, her hard work was starting to produce fruit...

Of course, she understood that life moved on and she was in time to be forgotten.

Being forgotten was one of her biggest fears.

When she looked into death and its meanings, she noticed that people remember their loved ones. As long as someone remembers, it was almost like they were not dead, they lived on in that person's heart and mind.

"Do I have anyone like that...?" Sarah says sadly, lower her head and trying not to cry, "Who will keep on remembering me when I'm gone? Grandma is old, she could last another eighty or a hundred years but after that, then what?"

Sarah's mind turns to Joanna, a werewolf's life normally ended in their fifties... Amy who was a water bearer had a life span of about seven hundred years.

Sarah wonders if she was being selfish wanting someone to remember her always.

...

Sarah closes the book, she was finished this one as well; quickly she placed it into her Soul Room. The next book for her to do was a book about the Transfer skill, he had been eager to tell the others that she wanted to write out every book on light bearers; they did not seem to mind this.

Turning to the mega thick book she grins, she turns and reaches over the table for the blanks; she grabs a book about the same thickest and opens both the ancient-looking book and the brand new blank one.

Sarah had thought she had gotten all her hands on the books on the Transfer skill, she had been wrong when she came across this book.

Sarah reads and 'write' as she went along; feeling a little better she starts with the introduction.

She was so focused that Sarah forgot all her surroundings until-

"Ah! It's still pouring down with blossoms outside!" Gosselin cries out loudly as he returns; not understanding what was so surprising since the raining blossom had been going on for a while now, Sarah turns and blinks.

The other teen was completely covered in pink blossom- on the top of his head, shoulders and sticking out in loose parts.

"Welcome back." Sarah greets trying hard not to laugh at the sight, "Did you have a nice lunch?"

"I should have just eaten at the restaurant here!" Gosselin spat out in annoyance, he starts blowing out making spit fly, a blossom was on the tip of his mouth, "My sister asked me to come to her! Knowing that this blizzard is happening!"

'Sorry about that... ' Sarah thinks, biting back a smile, she was to blame but she did not know how to stop it, 'Not from lack of trying...and 'blizzard'?'

During the evening when everyone went to the Dark Sense Hearings, Sarah would stand at the top of the building, trying to stop the falling blossoms. She managed to stop it, going to bed she slept soundly. The next morning it was back with vengeance.

Sarah stares to the book of transfer focusing solely on this once more- it was written by a light bearer who managed to master the form of casting. Interested Sarah reads and wrote carefully, going over the things in her mind and sometimes out loud.

Hours passed by and Sarah was still on the same book. She did not even notice that night had come and those scholars had said goodnight and left.

"So I need my signet? That would help?" Sarah says softly to herself as he continues to read; it seems it was easier to transfer to somewhere where one that already had been. Leaving your mark or signet seal in a hidden place used less power; it was not saying that one needed to use the signet always for a transfer, as long as one had a clear thought of where they wanted to go.

"That makes sense," Sarah said in awe when she remembers her first transfer, "I was following the map. I knew where it was; it seems that transfer is not about disappearing and reappearing elsewhere, your body is broken up! Turned into light itself and travels to the place you want to go!"

Sarah sighs and leans back moving her neck from side to side and hoping her healing would start not that she had stopped bending over the table- she ponders only, everything she had just learned. She was only halfway through the book and she was exhausted; she was determined to finish it by sunrise and sleep during the day.

It did not matter about tomorrow, the scholars would not be coming because it was a special of the Dark Sense Hearing which lasting about three days, they all wanted to go. She had not seen Amy for a couple of days, so she was hoping to see her the day after.

With her healing working and loosened the knots in her shoulder and nack muscles, Sarah bows her head down over the book, continuing her writing and reading.


	27. Discovery Arc: Click My Heels?

Sarah groans loudly; she was hungry and thirsty, needed to use the toilet, her eyes were hurting her lips was sore and she wanted to go back to bed.

Blinking, her healing ability starts to work, aiding her eyes and lips- she gazes around at the empty bookshop, there, there were only three members of staff none was dark bearers' ally.

Sarah spent most of yesterday in bed sleeping deeply, giving her light time to grow stronger as a result. After waking up, she stayed in her capsule and only let her mind go to her soul room, rather than going between the dimensions; there she and her monsters placed the books away, she was glad she made so much space- she could not have known she would be getting so many books, she only created it like that because she liked big libraries. And yet even with half the books she placed on the shelves it barely caused a dent on her many many shelves, her soul's library was ten times the space of the large bookshop... and that building was large!

In her library monsters like the Giant Troll could walk about freely- Sarah had thought she might be getting a couple of larger monsters, so designed it way, she had studied a history book where people of the past let their monsters walk around in their homes... of course, only the very rich could have their homes built in such a way.

So her Soul Room was an odd mix of her favourite large libraries and based on or castles and manors of the past.

It was a good thing too because the Giant Troll was keen to help; Sarah thought these kinds of monsters kept to themselves, however, this was not the case. Her Giant Troll was just as playful as her blob Sunny was.

Moaning again Sarah moves along the rows of books, most of this section was already in her Soul Room, those three scholars really was helpful to have around. She till wanted to know who sent them, how that person knows her passwords for her e-mail address and her bank details.

First thought was her grandmother, then ruled that out since she knew the old woman did not have that kind of money.

"Could it be the same person who gave me my cloak?" Sarah questions aloud, she settles down on one of the many sofas around the bookshop, "That's still a mystery itself!"

Thinking of her grandmother, Sarah suddenly felt homesick- she wanted to with her grandmother, play some games or reading while in their second-hand shop, waiting for customers to come.

Sarah also wanted permission to create her own signet a little early; she needed her grandmother and the school' consent for this.

"Grandma will let me..." Sarah says with a tight smile, she knew her grandmother would do anything in her power for her..., but the school was a different matter, "I'm sure it will be fine..."

Sarah stuck her hand into her subspace, she brings out a cereal bar, which was her last one. The restaurant had closed while this latest thing with the Dark Sense Hearing special programme happened.

"Wait!" Sarah cries out as she stands suddenly, "I can get home!"

Sarah turns and begins to hurries back to her capsule bed; during her mad dash to the room he never saw anyone else, she knew they were some other around since she could sense one of them near, which was another light bearer.

Sarah takes a deep breath, regaining control over her breathing- she thought she had passed all that with the training she had been working with Joanna, why had that small run make her exhausted?

She walks through the open doorway and into the room, every wall had a round window door, breaking these up were small ladders embedded into the wall that ran from the floor to the ceiling.

Glad she managed to get one close to the floor, she knees down and pushes the button. The round door came outwards and Sarah drops to her rear and spun her legs around so that she was going in feet first.

Once inside she closes the door shut and locked it.

Sarah rolls so that she was laying on her back, then she folds her hands over her stomach and closed her eyes. Here she laid for a moment, just listening to the sound of her own heartbeat. She was more than a little nervous, she could feel her body shaking both in excitement and fear.

Sarah then focuses. Carefully thinking of her home and only her home; she calls upon her light power, she touched her very core of her soul.

'Wonder if I should add 'there's no place like home?'' Sarah thinks suddenly... she then broke into a fit of giggles, she turns on her side, her casting completely broken. Those giggles turned into a full-blown laugh, it took her five minutes to get over himself and calm down.

"Okay, enough of that." Sarah scolds herself with a deep frown, "It wasn't even _that_ funny." There was still a smirk plastered on her face as she turns back around and closes her eyes, she focused away on her home. Once again she touches her soul calling on her power.

Sarah relaxed, it was a lot different than before. Last time she had no choice, this time she was thinking too much. Also, she had almost little light left in her mana pool, she was completely full at this time.

'It will get easier with use,' Sarah thought firmly, she sees her home in her mind's eye, almost appearing like one of her windows, 'Like with my healing ability, the more I use it the more it will become second nature to me. To the point where I don't need to think, to the point where I don't need to do anything at all.'

Sarah reaches out for her light. In an instant, balls of strong light emerge above him, they came popping and floating around her with surprising fast. She felt the hottest burn off of her, felt the moment she was nothing but light.

Sarah grasps out when there was suddenly nothing under him, opening her eyes she stares up at the sky- when she fell.

It was a short drop, she lands and slid slightly- shocked she jerks her head both ways quickly, trying to see where she was.

Blinking at the familiar sight, she quickly realized that she was home, however, she was lying upon his roof.

"Whoa!" Sarah cries startled as he slid down on the roof tiles. Looking around he sees the part of the roof that sloped for his bedroom windows; holding on the best he can before he rolls straight off the roof- while she knew how to heal broken bones, she did not want to test how many she could heal at once.

Sarah crawls and shifts over to the window, hoping to find it open.

Getting one leg round, she managed to place it on the windowsill, she gripped onto the roof as she brings her other leg over and placed that one on the sill as well. She let out a long breath, she did not know she was holding; bending down slightly, she almost cries out in joy at the sight of her open windows.

Sarah notice now she was kind of stuck, she had a grip on the roof above her but if she let go then might fall backward.

Sarah remains suddenly and blinks at her hands, almost willing them to let go. "Okay~ Now what? Am I stuck until Grandma finds me?"

"Or until I find ya!" A voice came from her bedroom, close to where she was.

"Joanna!" Sarah shouts out unable to hind the sheer relief in her voice.

"Sarah! What are ya doing here?" Joanna asks loudly, she sticks her head out the window close to Sarah's stomach and lowering chin to her chest, she sees her friend's face.

"You know, just hanging." Sarah answers with a tight smile, but she could feel her finger very numb and their joints were aching badly, "Think you could pull me inside?"

"Sure." Joanna responses with a nod, she disappears inside for a moment, then right her arms came out the window, wrapping around Sarah's centre, "Alright! Let go!"

With wholehearted trust in her friend, Sarah lets her now white fingers let go of the roof; and just as she fell backward, staring at that blue sky once more. Joanna pulls her forwards, supporting her weight just fine. Soon Sarah was being carried inside her room.

"Joanna! I would kiss you if you weren't riddled with diseases!" Sarah says and she hugs her best friend's head.

"OI! I had all my shots!" Joanna shouts back giving Sarah's rear end and light smack, "What are ya doing here anyway?!"

"Long story." Sarah answers, she felt herself being lowered, soon as feet touched the bedroom floor, she continues, "I could ask the same for you, but I really don't care. I'll just glad you are!"

"I'm helping out your old lady," Joanna replies to that with a bold grin and flashing her fangs, she then frowns, "So you gonna tell me?"

"Yes, but with Grandma as well," Sarah says in excitement at the successful Transfer, then walks further into the room, making her way to the door, "So I don't have to say it twice. But first, can I get something to eat, I'm so hungry it's unbelievable! No! First! The toilet!"


	28. Discovery Arc: The Naked Truth!

Sarah woke up feeling... oddly cold, which was not normal for a light bearer, their bodies were always warm but not as hot as fire bearers.

Sarah stares up at her own ceiling, the sunlight that came through the window felt nice against her bare flesh as she sunbathes, trying to soak up as much light as possible.

It was weird.

Just yesterday she was miles away from home, she did not know how long it took for him to get there to here but that does not matter at this point, so could time it on a later date.

Sarah had already decided that she wanted to light a book on the Transfer Skill, it was a rare skill and only a few mastered it. If she would pen her discovers then her name will go down in history!

Sarah smiles at her thoughts, she had found it. With the Transfer Skill she had found her place, her name would be spoken around in schools for years to come, even if she was not a common household name, the mention of it would trigger a memory of when they heard of her.

Her grandmother had been thrilled for her, knowing how much Sarah wanted to transfer herself. Joanna had been outright shocked, but soon cheered Sarah's latest success. They had pizza to celebrate this, along with a mountain of ice cream.

Sarah... failed to mention... that the Dark Sense Hearing was just really some large scale event to find the Forgotten One, that she was attacked and killed, that she could heal herself without casting, that she sealed a Giant Troll, that someone had gotten hold of her bank details and placed lots of money inside while contacting some scholar group to help with to write out many books, that her own e-mail address had been used to hire that said scholar group and she performed an odd snow casting that turned cherry blossom that fell into from the skies above the whole city and could not stop it.

The only thing Sarah said was that she transferred herself. That was it. The rest was she to carry without worrying her lovely grandmother and dear friend.

Sarah sighs as she rolls in bed, the morning was beginning to get brighter and brighter with each passing second, and she much as she wanted to lay there all day drinking it on, she had to get out of bed sooner or later.

Then Sarah heard a sound. Like something smashing on the ground, it came from downstairs.

"Sooner!" Sarah cries out leaping up from the bed, she rushes to her door, hurries in opening it, then ran flat out down the hallway to the stairs- she believes that her grandmother had fallen over, it happened last year and the old woman hurt her knees badly.

"GRANDMA!?" Sarah shouts, running towards the kitchen the place where her grandmother always was this time of the morning, "Are you okay?"

Sarah glances at the kitchen, seeing her grandmother right away, standing unharmed and just staring at the T.V screen. She was pale, her eyes were wide and her mouth was open slightly.

By Corinna's feet was a broken mug, with hot dark liquid streaming around it.

"Grandma?" Sarah calls lightly, quickly going nearer, she grabs hold of the old woman's shoulders and carefully made her face her way, "Grandma, what's wrong?"

"Sarah..." Corinna groans out her name, turning fully to see her worried granddaughter standing in front of her.

"What?" Sarah asks softly, the older woman then points to the T.V, on it was 'Breaking News' written at the top and an overhead view of the city was on, "What happening?"

"That Dark Hear Sense festival." Corinna said, at last, seemingly getting over the first shock, "It a ploy to get a hold of the Forgotten One! They said that they been watching this for many years now, but someone became a whisper blower. Light bearers talking about declaiming war on dark bearers!"

Sarah stood there shaking, not believing what she had just heard- another war was the last thing this world needed, they were just starting to get over the Forgotten War from two hundred years ago.

Blinking at the screen the newsreader was explaining how many years this had been under investigation.

"I have to get to Amy!" Sarah whispers in concern, she backs away, then quickly sits down onto the kitchen stool and began thinking about the capsule room she had been there.

Corinna must have something because she sighs loudly and then gently places her hand on Sarah's shoulder.

"Be careful Sarah, please." Corinna begs to softly, feeling helpful that there was nothing she could do, "You won't be able to take Amy back with your transfer skull, so have to find another way out of the city. _Be careful_."

"Thanks Grandma," Sarah told her with a nod, 'For not stopping me.' she says inwardly, then gently patting the hand on her shoulder, "Grandma I'll be home as soon as I can. Don't worry, I'm strong."

"Oh! Wait! Before you go!" Corinna cries out suddenly, taking her hand away she walks around the table and picks something up, a black and white envelope, "Your signet seal came this morning."

"My signet!?" Sarah yells out completely shocked, watching her grandmother returning with the envelope and holding it out for her to take, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't you remember? You asked for me to give you permission for your own," Corinna explains with a raised brow, seeing her granddaughter was not moving she opens it herself and takes a white card out, it was the same size as a credit card but was made from thin metal, "Just before you left for the station, you mentioned about having a signet would make it easier for transfer... is something wrong, Sarah?"

'I never asked for my seal before I left!' Sarah screams in her mind, he reaches over for the card with his signet on it, 'How could I have mentioned about the transfers and seals are linked? _I only just found out myself_!'

Sarah slowly turns the card to see the text and runes written on there.

It was an old seal of Atlantis, with ancient Aktinovolía and Obscurité as well as other, runes written in the spaces between- it looked so much like one of her final sketches and writings, with slight differences to the ones in her notes, there was some in mother language and those modern ones she knew with protective enchantments she seen in some higher level books.

The centre, the middle and the borderline, had her name and her true hidden name, in those three tongues; Lost Atlantis, ancient Aktinovolía and his mother tongue: 'Princess of Light ----------'.

'What is going on?!' Screams her mind screamed once more.

"Sarah, ain't you going to use the signet? Wasn't that the reason you came back for?" Corinna asks quickly, making Sarah blinks at her for a moment.

"Yes... I'll place the signet seal in my room." Sarah says almost in a daze, standing she wonders out of the room, her mind still in a state of confusion and never-ending questions.

"Sarah are you not going to take your backpack?" Corinna asks following her and turning Sarah sees her grandmother holding out a black backpack she has never seen before, "I saw you packing it last night full of food."

"Me?" Sarah questions sharply, she reaches out and takes the backpack into her arms, knowing full well she never done this thing, "...Bye Grandma, love you!"

Sarah hurries out the room before her grandmother could say any more; heavy backpack to hold, but she ran back up the stairs with it and did not stop until she was in her room.

Still hugging the backpack, she held up the card with her signet, it was much longer and more refined than the ones in her notes.

Quickly making her way over to her bed, she carefully places the backpack down at the end of it and then looks to her signet card- when she turns twenty-five, she could get a ring made with it on.

The only time she would ever be allowed to make a new one now was if she got married- that was actually a strange trend about a hundred years ago, men and women would get married and show off how many signet rings they had, of course, they could not the older ones it was just like a trophy.

Sarah shakes her head and stares down at the card, they had practiced in school with their family seals and dummy signets- she mumbles her casting, a white glow forms, followed by a purple light. This light appears in an orb that and then threw itself towards the headboard of her bed; what was left behind was the image of Sarah's signet seal in purple.

It had worked, Sarah felt her core mana response to this.

It was amazing!

Shaking her head again, she remembers she had to move important things to do.

Like saving her love interest from a city that would be soon to be a focal point of the coming war.

Sarah turns her attention back to the backpack, moving over to it she opens it and peers inside at a distance, fully expecting something to jump out at her. She found food, a first aid kit, a few tools and oddly enough another belt which held a leather pouch for monster coins.

Sarah frowns, not understanding why she needed one- reaching into her Soul Room, she pulls out her own belt and wraps it around her middle. It could hold up to twenty monsters now, it would have held more but it depended on the levels of the monster coin inside, the actual number would go down.

Sarah held of Hunters and even those Monster Fighters, had lots of pouches on their belts, there was even a story of a person who had one pouch for one monster that was very high level and had six of them, so needed another belt for his older level monsters.

Some then have a pouch for each type of monster they have and designers latched onto this concept and brought out belts and pouches with designs and patterns that showed which was which.

'...So maybe another pouch would do...' Sarah reasons with herself, she frowns at the belt itself, 'I don't think I'd need another belt though.'

Sarah hears her grandmother walking back the stairs and nods once more.

"Keeping my belt on might be for the best," Sarah mumbles out, patting the pouch, "I won't make that mistake in waiting for them to come. I can just summon them."

Sarah felt a bit stupid when remembering her run in with those cloaked men, she was waiting for her elf to appear on her window screen to send him out when she could have summoned him the normal way.

Sarah zips up the bag and turns to see her grandmother, she gives the older woman a tight smile and ran over for a quick hug, pulling away without looking at her, she darts over to the bed and grabbing the backpack, sends it into her Soul Room.

Sarah crawls upon her bed, then focuses on that capsule room. She felt the lights coming around her, she felt the heat growing hotter, she felt the moment her body passes and-

"Sarah wait! Yo-" Her grandmother screams in panic but her voice fades into the nothingness of pure white light.

With a loud gasp, Sarah stares at the ceiling that was much closer to her body than her own.

'What had Grandman said?' Sarah thinks in a dull daze, she brings her arms above her head and unlocks her capsule room, then drags herself out. Rolling over onto her belly she gets to her feet and gazes around in stunned silence.

There were people everywhere!

Some were trying to out into their room, others coming out. The sound of noisy chatter filled the air, one half was with joyful voices, others of worry.

Someone rocks into her and she almost fell- with a loud tut, she bends over and locks her door, then she hurries through the crowd.

Many eyes were following her.

'Why are they staring at me?' Sarah questions as she went along, she glares at some as she passes; she was looking for Baak and her team first.

Then she spots them.

"Baak!" Sarah calls over the many people, the group turned her way, "I've been looking for you! I need to speak with you."

"Sarah," Kunigonde says smiling strangely with greeting her, "Maybe you should put some clothes beforehand, and perhaps drape yourself in some shadows. Letting people know you're a light bearer at this time is not a good thing."

"Clothes...?" Sarah blinks at her in confusion, then her expression changes to one of horror as the feeling of dread washing over her, slowly she gazes downwards.

With her best womanly scream, she summons her shadow cloak and wraps it around her body, covering her and hiding her light.

Sarah had been wearing nothing but her midnight blue starry bikini set she had been sunbathing in, with her leather belt.


	29. Discovery Arc: Coming!

Sarah follows behind Baak with her head down, her whole face was still completely red. She was not even sure where she was going, she only kept pace with her.

"We have the remaining books in a storeroom," Baak says as she reaches a door and stops, "Just like the note said, complete half before you come and finish the rest while you were here."

"Note?" Sarah asks in a bit of a daze, finally lifting her head to greet the older woman's gaze, then looks to the door, "You have completed the books?"

"Yes, all that's left for you to do is to place them into your sub-space." Baak answers right away, she opens the door and walks inside, "There is a lot, it should only take an hour or so."

Sarah followers behind once more and then stop in her tracks, her mouth parted; there were books piled up to the ceiling; she notices Gosselin in the corner frowning about something. He had his phone in his hand, there was some noise coming from it.

"Everything okay?" Baak asks when she noticed his foul mood as well.

"The Elders of Light are demanding for King Éber to come to their Crystal Palace." Gosselin explains not sounding the least bit pleased, "Talks of war is spreading everywhere!"

"Oh dear, this place will be the first to be hit." Baak says looking upset, she turns to Sarah, "Go away and place them in your sub-space."

"Sure." Sarah said quickly and rushes over to the books, deciding not to question this but storing it later in her brain to think about.

She called upon her monsters, summoning them the normal way- her elf and three skeletons appeared and helped move the books, meanwhile, on the other side, her golem and troll moved the piles to one side as they came through into the Soul Room.

'Maybe I can get the shadows to help?' Sarah thinks as she went up a ladder and reached the top of the room, she held her hand over books and went downwards, the books vanished as she did.

"Is it really okay for us to be helping a light bearer?" Gosselin asks the young woman who was looking over his shoulder at the phone.

"We are scholars. We aid those you seek knowledge," Baak replies as she continues to watch, "Be them light bearer or dark."

"Excuse me," Sarah calls from her high up place on the next book pile, the pair looked up at her, "Are we safe in this city for now?"

"We are." Baak answers smiling grimly, "For now, light bearers and neutral may be asked to leave soon though."

"Can I ask why?" Sarah said with interest, she carried on placing the books into her Soul Room, slower now that she was being watched, "I mean, I understand why someone would want their memories, but knowing could risk the whole world's life right?"

"We don't know that." Gosselin answers with a heavy sigh, "King Éber thinks the Elders of Light are hiding something, something about the Forgotten One."

"The Forgotten One is evil." Sarah stated the thing she was told since youth dully, "The bringer of the end of our world as we know it. Someone who died close at the beginning of King Éber's rule. And no one should find answers to it. "

"If this one is 'Forgotten' then how can anyone say that they were an evil person?" Baak questions her firmly, she kept silent for a moment just placing the books away.

"There is no answer to that question." Sarah admits with a deep frown, "I would love to know, as a historian, I want to open the past and bring it to life. Also, I believe that no one has the right to be forgotten..."

The room fell into silence, the only sound was Sarah moving around and Gosselin and Baak taking the books closer to her. How long she was there, she had no way of knowing, she felt that Amy was safe at the moment because no one else was running away in a panic.

"I want to find out." Sarah suddenly said breaking the silence, "I want to know just what happened to the Forgotten One, how they died and why do their existences mean the end of ours."

"Perhaps you may discover what happened to our King." Gosselin replies in a hopeful voice, but she could tell that he was just saying that, "The King is a great man, however, there are times he is tortured by things he can't remember."

"How do you know this?" Sarah asks feeling sorry for the man who her grandmother once served under.

"There was some report out years back about it," Baak explains as she drops some books in front of her, "He hoped that his people seeing how pained he was, that someone would come forward knowing the truth."

"But no one came." Gosselin finishes sadly as he stares into nothingness, lost in thought.

"Here!" Baak says happily as she drops three large thick books in front of Sarah, who jumped, she too had got lost in thought.

"Thanks! I really grateful for everything you have done for me." Sarah told them with a smile; she runs a hand across the books, they went out of sight. "I best find my friend and see if we can get tickets out of the city."

"That would be best," Baak agrees as she smiles at her, offering him a hand to shake, "It was nice meeting you Sarah, maybe we'll meet again someday."

Sarah took the offered hand and shook it firmly, smiling. Letting go he reached out to Gosselin's waiting hand and did the same. Recalling her monsters she starts to turn.

"Goodbye, hope all goes well with you," Sarah says with a small smile, turning fully, she runs for the door. Opening she rushes out, it was surprising how tiring it was to place go many books away into her Soul Book- it had been a long time since she had left the weighty after-effects of placing something inside, and before when she placed anything new insides she would be dazed and emotionless for hours, now her body, heart, mind, and soul was used to the sudden changes.

'I guess I should be glad this weight in the only thing to bother me,' Sarah thinks to herself running down the familiar corridors she had come to place over the past week, 'it always feels like its passing.'

As she races along keeping a steady pace, she noticed many people were doing the same as Gosselin had been doing. Checking their phones, no doubt watching the news.

Sarah smiles to herself, glad for her training for had done with Joanna, there would have been no way she could have done this kind of running without collapsing so many months ago.

Grabbing her own phone she quickly pushed a few buttons and placed it to her ear, she stops in front of the stairs not wanting to wait for the elevators and carefully began to walk down them as she listened to the rings.

"Sarah?" Amy's voice came on the other end, sounding worried and stressed, "Where are you now?"

"Still in the bookshop," Sarah answers and jumps down the stairs, her free hand hovering over the railing as she went, "Where are you?"

"At the hotel," Amy said with a sigh, she did not sound too worried anymore, "I've been trying to get tickets for you to leave, but the phone lines are packed."

"Okay, keep trying until I get there." Sarah said as she, at last, reach the bottom, "I'll try to be as quick as I can."

"Okay, see you soon," Amy says, then the line went dead without Sarah even saying goodbye.

Sarah took the phone away from her ear and shoved it away into her Soul Room, she continues racing to the front doors of the building and rushed into the large open area that was before it. The first thing she noticed that everyone was elbow deep in pink blossoms- she saw a couple walking through them close by, the ones under the beautiful top layer were yellowing and damp.

The blossoms were still coming down from the sky, though not as bad as before.

'Surely this can't be me?' Sarah thinks to herself firmly and she raises her arms either side of herself and moved them along with her legs as she forces herself through.

It was a lot harder for her since she was so short but she had grown taller since her training too, which she had been pleased with.

It was tougher than running in water, but Sarah grits her teeth and struggled onwards; there was no way she was going to use transfer in the middle of emery territory.


	30. Discovery Arc: The Monster Act!

Sarah had to use her whole body to push through the thick rotten blossoms, her muscles were screaming at her to rest- she had never done much weight training... how she wished she had joined Joanna on her more intense exercises.

The young woman spat and coughed; it was getting everywhere! The rotten petals beneath stuck to her clothes and the loose pink ones on top went into her long hair, making it damp, and her mouth, leaving a foul taste behind. And of course, it was still raining down from above, covering her head and shoulder.

Sarah pauses and went near a building that had a shelter over the main entrance and caught her breath were shaking her head, causing the new pile to fall, joining the few that had fallen into the shelter. Dark glass surrounding the whole front of the building's lobby allowing to see herself clearly in it.

Glancing up she sees a mother holding her child close to her, battling against the blossoms.

Sarah sighs heavily, she had two men and three women come up to her asking if she needed help, claiming that a child should not have to push through this alone and either saying they were would or call her mother.

The light bearer had grown up a lot over the past months and she knows that some sixteen-year-olds were this short too because she had someone in her class. Sarah turns to the glass of the building and stares at the purple-eyed girl staring back at her in the dark reflection.

Sarah thought she appeared to be the height of a thirteen-year-old, she had lost most of her baby fat leaving behind the first signs of a womanly figure... of course, her clothes did not help highlight this and people saw a short young girl and thought she was still younger...

Sarah raises her chin and stares at the mountain of blossoms; she knew she had to keep going... but the subway that returned to the hotel was a four-mile walk.

'Maybe I can summon a monster?' Sarah thinks to herself as she starts to move once more, while a woman had been demanding for her to give over her mother's phone number, she had seen a person riding a horse-like dragon, which marched through the blossoms like it was nothing, 'I bet more and more people will realize that soon... but to use monsters for like that, is it allow outside of battles? There are been a ban on monsters in cities and town and using them for everyday use since.... since.... 2390 years ago!'

Sarah pauses to catch her breath once more, feeling more wore out than the last time she took a break. She pushes her way to another building and leant against the brick wall.

As she breaths in deeply she tried not to suck in the blossoms surrounding her.

'But who? My elf? Calixtus would cut people down... My golem? No Rocky is too slow.' Sarah thinks as she pulls up her screen, it showed her image and the number of monster summoning coins on her person alongside it, 'My blob... Sunny would not be any help. My skeletons? Nope. Drus Dryad? No... My Giant Troll... well, I think it could help but it might cause a panic and I don't want to turn this into a horror story...'

Sarah starts moving, then pauses when she notices that the falling blossoms had slowed down- a mighty cheer was heard making her jump, she was not the only one to see that the blossoms were settling.

Blinking she gazes around, the blossoms had been falling so hard that it had blinded her and now everything looked so different buried in the blossom, she had been sure she had been going the right way when she left- but with people having kept stopping her and felt a little lost now.

Then she notices a shop she had past when looking for the second-hand book shops. 'There's a monster store along this road right?' Sarah remembers with a bold grin and was grateful she did not get a mouth full of petal when she did. With the purpose of another monster, she used all her strength to push forever.

And when she, at last, turns the corner, she froze at the sight. Her mouth drop and then she giggles, 'So I was right,' Sarah thought with a snort, staring at the people lining up to get into the store's doors, 'The people want monsters to move around or maybe even to get out of the city.'

As she forces herself onwards, her eyes never leave the store. More people were coming around the corners of the road and were also trying to reach the place as well. Sarah counts the number of people outside, there was about ten but knew there must be more inside.

Though most monster stores at a limit of how many people could enter at a time. So she knew there would not be a mad rush once she actually gets inside.

Sarah manages to reach the store and stood at the end of the queue, where she waits restlessly. Pulling out her phone she checks to see if anyone had tried to call her, it was hard to hear with everything that was happening around her, so she could have easily missed it.

Sarah stares at the many missed calls and text messages displayed on her screen, all from her grandmother and Joanna- she sends them a quick reply, explaining what was happening and what she was currently doing. First Joanna and then her grandmother.

As soon as she flicks her phone down, it rang. Which caused her to jump. Flicking it back up, she sees the caller was Joanna.

"Joanna?" Sarah asks placing the phone to her ear.

"Sarah! Got your text," Joanna's voice came through, "And I know this might sound vain and all, but it's not, you should get a wolf based monster! It can help you sniff your way through since you're having a hard time seeing."

"Yeah, I would say I got snow blindness...," Sarah with a small laugh, "All this pink is hurting my eyes like snow blindness though."

"Oh! Ya old lady said she is sending some money your way!" Joanna carries on, seeming not hearing her friend, "She said to get a horse and dragon! Wow! That's gonna cost ya an arm and a leg! Ya sure?"

Suddenly Sarah heard her grandmother talking in the background with Joanna making noises of agreement.

"What's wrong?" Sarah questions with a raised brow, she walks into the stores, the manager seemed to be letting more people in because of the blossoms- she felt this was both good and bad.

"Ya old lady is saying 'get to a TV'," Joanna answers quickly, "King Éber is going to make an announcement soon."

"King Éber is going to make an announcement?!" Sarah cries out in surprise loudly and was about to say more when she noticed that all sound around her had stopped.

Slowly glancing up she notices the hard stares, those around her were all silently listening to her. With a shaky voice Sarah went on, "I'm nowhere near a T.V."

"We have one!" A staff shouts over the heads to the people, making everyone seemingly sigh in relief as one.

"Oh! Joanna," Sarah says, she holds the phone closer, a little fearless at their stares, but thankfully most was looking to the staff member as he went along, "What channel is it on?""ANTis on 1428." Joanna answers loudly, "Got to go listen too, call me!"

"Channel 1428!" Sarah shouts out and she flicks her phone down, hurrying over to where the crowd had gathered she sees two members to staff pull down a large screen that was most likely used for advertisements and one began turning the channel.

A female newsreader came on, looking stressed about something, a person was hovering over her with a piece of paper jerking it up and down while he talked. The paper was then handed to the woman. The woman starts to talk.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where I can find a wolf, horse and dragon monsters?" Sarah asks softly as she could to one member of staff whom eyes were glued to the screen, they gave a quick glance her way and points to some coins display cases.

Sarah hurries over and gazes through the glass, these were horse base monsters, however, they all had riders with them too. Above each coin was a photo of what the monster looked like, along with its level, stats and skills below.

This was a little different from her town, she had to guess what it looked like fully by the image on the coin itself and only had very few delights- Sarah liked this arrangement better because she could see what she was getting.

There were too few in number and none caught her eye that made it stand out and have her think 'This is the one'.

Sarah's eyes lands on the final coin.

It was a knight in black armour with deep red running through it, its horse it was mounted on had the same kind of armour on. The creature in armour looked to be the size of a human man and the horse also appeared to be normal.

But that could not be right because no humans lived in the Phantom Zone and even if there were, she doubted them could be sealed.

The knight was strong... her eyes drift to the price tag. It was worth a lot.

That should have turned her away but something about this knight made her heart pulse painfully in her ribcage- she gazes at the skills. This knight had speed and strength on its side.

"Zephyros the Dark Knight," Sarah reads the name aloud then opening the glass she reaches for the coin and held it tightly in her hand, kind of wishing she had brought a basket to carry them in- these tiny black baskets could be found on either side of the entrance as she came in.

Quickly she moves to the next aisle, these ones were labelled 'Dragons'.

Sarah's eyes scanned the many dragon coins, so many that she could not even begin to decide- dragons were one of the most popular with the most wealthy.

Then she sees one.

A large cat with dragon wings and tail. It was black and purple. It was perfect.

With a smile, she takes the coin and places it in her hand with the knight.

Then she moves over to the other monsters, Sarah walks across and blinks in surprise, the store was allowing more and more people in, which was not normal, they were hurrying over to the coins.

Feeling a little panicked she picked up her pace, she makes her walk towards the wolf-like monsters. Checking through them she sees one monster she likes, mainly because it looked like Joanna when she was fully changed, only this one was a different colour, a mix of browns and blacks, much bigger and more 'scary'.

It was called 'King Horn Wolf'.

''Horn'?' Sarah thinks as she stares at the picture, looking more carefully she notices that there was a small horn in the centre of the forehead.

"Okay, Horn Wolf," Sarah says with a grin, picking up the monster coin and turning it over and then placing it into her hand, "I can completely seal and bound these and my other to me now... actually maybe that can wait, or I can do it myself later."

Sarah hurries over to a staff member and held up the three coins to see. The man dressed in a cream coloured uniform nods and leads over and takes the coins from her. Following behind the man, Sarah gets out her seal card and stares at it for a moment, then raised it as the man stares to remove the store's seal on the coins.

Sarah held up her seal with a little bit of excitement of using her seal for the first time.

It did not take long, soon they were her new monster coins, all with her seal on their backs.

Pulling her seal away Sarah takes her new coins and studies them, she smiles as she turns and walks back to the main showroom.

Looking up to the screen Sarah sees a tanned 'young man' with deep red eyes, the colour of flesh life's blood. Upon his head was a golden crown, flattening down his reddish shoulder-length hair.

"-as well as the ones before them," King Éber's voice boomed around the store, "And another thing. I hear by lift the ban on Monster Act 122232, my people and those of my allies, are now allowed to use their monsters as they see fit. As it was in the old days."

Sarah swallows hard, she no longer wanted to listen to what the man had to say.

Turning she moves towards the doors, her light was still hidden but there was still a chance that someone may see passed her shadows.

'In an around about way,' Sarah thinks grimly, she pushes her way out of the store, 'The King has already declared war. That Act was an agreement to every bearers kind.'

Sarah places new coins into her belt, then summons her King Horn Wolf to her world.

The golden-eyed monster fixes it's intense gaze on her, it leans down and sniffs at her hair and then backs her, waiting for orders.

"Sorry, Horn Wolf," Sarah says with a tight smile, it looked fierce, "But I'm going to have to ask if I can ride you..."

The monster stared at hee for what seemed like the longest moment, then tucked its front legs under itself and lowered itself down. Sarah quickly came forward and swung her leg round, she sat her rear just behind the wolf monster's shoulder blades and held onto its fur close to the base of its neck.

"Thank you." Sarah says softy as the monsters carefully stood, then begins running forwards, letting the gently pull of Sarah's hands to give it direction.


	31. Earthquake Of The Heart

Sarah kept her face close to King Horn Wolf's fur- she was so planning to give it another name; the monster strongly reminded her of Joanna and this was a great comfort for her. 

Purple eyes peek out of the fur that covered her face, blinking through the pink blossom that was falling heavily once again.

'We have to get out of the city,' Sarah thinks as she grits her teeth together, 'That stupid King, going against one Act could throw our whole world into war. Like we need-' Sarah straightens herself on King Horn Wolf's back, she narrows her eyes to the sound of a rumbling coming from one road. Sarah's King Horn Wolf stops- around her many other people travelling by monster also stops to stare.

Then it appeared.

Through the blossom, a giant outline of a monster could be seen- the young woman kept blinking as the pink petals went on her face, not even bothering to brush them away. 

A roar was heard, startling all the humans and causing the monsters to back away slowly.

Even Sarah's wolf monster backs up, growling loudly.

The giant creature was walking slowly and with its body, it shielded a moving truck or bus beneath its for

As it came nearer, Sarah could see the mark of the Dark King on the side of the bus-like thing. 

There was another monster above the giant one, a pure black dragon- this monster belonged to the King's Aide and was legendary for its final attack that was meant to be able to see from space. 

People had started getting off their monsters and were bowing low to the passing dragon; Sarah kept looking through the blossom in amazement, although, she did not understand why they bowed to the dragon, even how great it was said to be- Sarah sees the real reason. 

Upon the top of the bus truck was a platform. 

The Dark King was seated there, together with his court.

'Why are they together? They all went separate ways years ago.' Sarah thinks as she carefully gets off her monster and bows slightly towards the dragon, 'Does this mean all- wait, will they try and contact Grandma? Or me? Who's now the Soul key's new guardian?' 

The enormous monster starts to pass, its giant foot was about ten feet in front of her. Slowly Sarah lifts up her head and blinks- the Dark King and his court took no notice of her. 

'This means they can't sense I'm the Soul Key's guardian...' Sarah thought with a frown, she reaches for the key that was nestled safely in her soul and touches it lightly, 'That's good. I really really, don't want to explain myself.' Sarah turns back to her wolf monster and climbs on its back once more, she gently tugs in the direction she wanted to go and it began to move; she takes one last look at the back of the black dragon, then turns away, keeping her focus on what lays ahead. 

The large wolf pushes through the piled high blossoms much father much faster than Sarah could ever hope to, however, the rotten ones under the freshly fallen ones had started to cake themselves onto the monster's blueish fur.

Sarah blinks... she was sure the monster's fur had been grey when she first summoned it. 

Shaking her head, she realizes that this was not important.

"Almost there!" Sarah shouts over the wind that kept bringing more and more blossoms with it, "Almost there!"

A few minutes later, Sarah caught sight of the building; she guides her wolf monster over to the hotel. As they reached the entrance, Sarah sild off the wolf's back and turning, she gives the now matted fur a stroke. 

"Thank you so much King Horn Wolf," Sarah says kindly to the monster, "Go have a nice rest." Instead of summoning back to the monster's realm, she lets her beast go inside her soul's chambers for the rest. She always felt badly of the idea of using them and sending them worn out and tired. 

Turning to the main entrance, Sarah hurries inside; the lobby was packed solid with people, all worried and trying to get ahold of loved ones by their phones. Babies were crying and children screaming restless, teens had grouped together, trying to seem brave. 

Sarah was also trying to act brave. 

Pushing her way through, she wonders if she should go to the main desk and ask after Amy or just go up to the room. The main desk was busy with many people too and after waiting for five minutes and not getting anyone's attention, she starts making her way to the elevators... where more people were also waiting. Some sighed loudly and head for the staircase, others had no choice but to wait with their belongings and their children, and could only look on at those ones. 

Deciding she had waited long enough, she edged her way through the crowds gathered in front of the elevators and made her went for the door that leads to the staircase. Going through the open door, she sees the people coming down were close to the wall while people going up were to the inner rail. Joining the flow, she carefully took a step forwards- it was a snail's pace but at least she was moving and not standing around waiting for something that might take her even longer to get on. 

It was then she remembers her phone; she quickly reaches for it and flicking it open, she starts getting up Amy's number on the screen. Pushing the button, she placed it to her ear and waited for her to pick up. 

"Sarah! Where are you now?" Amy's voice came down the line, worry and fear could easily be heard in her tone. 

"*I'm coming up the stairs. Everything is moving slow, but I should be at your door soon," Sarah answers quickly, then thought, 'No use asking what's wrong with her, it might just cause me to panic and there's nothing I can do to get there faster.' 

"Okay. Okay...Hurry, please." Amy moans out sounding close to tears, then the line went dead. 

Sarah closes her phone and returns it to its place, she felt guilty for leaving her when she was the one who was meant to be with her during this trip in the first place... even if this whole thing was some setup... 

'... and of course, I didn't think this would happen...' Sarah told herself, then sighs loudly, 'What a strange summer this has turned out to be... I can't believe how much weird stuff has happened in such a short space of time.' 

Sarah blinks when she notices she was on the floor she wanted, so she quickly towards the double doors that lead to that floor- the fire doors had been hooked open, making it easier to go in and out.

Thankfully, it was not as crowded on her floor, so she half ran half jogged down the large hallway, dodging the few people who were doing the same.

Reaching the door, she sighs heavily. Then knocks hard and waits quietly. The door flew open and Amy stood there, staring wide-eyed, on seeing her standing there, she smiles and relaxes. 

"Sarah!" Amy cheers loudly, coming forward and wrapping her arms around her shoulders, "I'm so glad you came!"

"Yeah, sorry it took so long. It's really tough getting through all that blossom," Sarah says when she unwraps her arms and steps- she felt her cheeks redden, "Has anything else happened?"

Sarah watches as her old friend's expression changes. Then without a word, Amy ushers her inside and closed the door behind them. She then leads her over to the T.V and points; Sarah hears a familiar voice talking roughly through the screen. 

"That's one of the Elders of Light!" Sarah says as she nears, "Amy... what is happening?"

"The light bearers are going to attack this city," Amy told wrapping her arms around herself, "King Éber and his court are heading toward city centre to protect it somehow. The Elders are attacking from the skies..." and then her old friend and love interest steps in front of the screen and looks her dead in the eyes, "Sarah, I want to stay."

Sarah blinks, her highly intelligent mind trying to make sense out of what she was saying. 

"Amy we are neutral," Sarah quickly responds finally, looking at her in shock, "We can't take sides, if we do then we can't return home."

"That just it, Sarah, I don't want to return." Amy said with tearful eyes, "I have fallen in love with someone."

Sarah's heart broke at the moment; she actually felt the walls around her rumbling loudly.

"EARTHQUAKE!" Amy screams diving for the floor, face down, and placing her hands over her head. 

The light bearer did not bother ducking for cover. 

Sarah blinks, she was too stunned to react to the shaking walls.

Completely and utterly dazed.

Sarah had always knowns she was going to have a short life because of her being of pure light birth- yet, she had wanted her remaining lifespan with Amy at her side. Amy had always given hints, always been kind and overlooked everything about her; Sarah even did not mind that her friend was not speaking with her during school hours, understanding that the bullying was a lot to deal with ...Sarah thought Amy was the one who would love someone like her and that they would get together...

Had that been a hopeless dream? Had it all been a lie? 

"Who?" Sarah asks trying her best to keep her voice as normal as possible.

"Has it passed?" Amy asks as she glances around, slowly she rose to her feet and turns to Sarah, "Sarah?"

"You said you were in love... who?" Sarah asks again as she kept her purple eyes on her not caring about the earthquake that had rocked the room. 

"The Dark King." Anzu said simply, she turns away with a secret smile on her lips.

" _ The Dark King? _ !" Sarah cries out shocked beyond belief, "Someone you have never met?!"

"Sarah, he is handsome." Amy said as if sharing some important information with her, making Sarah moan slightly while rolling her eyes, "I have never seen anyone like him in all my life, he-"

Sarah stood there for about three minutes listening to the love of her life telling her about how outstandingly great looking this man was. By the end, Sarah's right eye was twitching.

"Amy you don't know him. At all." Sarah said firmly, "He could be a right s-"

"You don't understand Sarah," Amy says loudly, cutting her off and with a sigh closes her eyes, "And how could you, no one can ever come to understand the pain he must go through, decade after decade, year after year, month after-"

"I get the point," Sarah mumbles in silent angry.

"-day after day, hour after hour...It must be so hard for him." Amy said as her opens her eyes once more and stares at the wall, seeing something Sarah could not, "Yet he carries on. For those around him, for his people. He just needs someone by his side who is willing to understand him."

Suddenly Sarah thought of something.

"Amy, even if you love this ... er... King," Sarah began trying to show her reason, "Let me put this a different way. You can not risk your life for someone you never met nor likely to meet. There is no way you can be together. I mean look you're both from two different worlds," This earned her a dreamy sigh, "You two can't be together."

"Sarah, I need your support with my choice." Amy said breaking out of her little dream, "But I did not come here just for the Dark Sense Hearing."

"Huh? Then what else did you come for?" Sarah asks feeling very uneasy.

Another rumble shook their room, causing her to gasp and duck once more. Once more Sarah did not bother much for the earthquake, she let it pass without moving, waiting for Amy to carry on with what she was saying. 


	32. Leap Of Faith

Sarah stares at her old friend, her cheeks were flushed, her brown eyes seemed to shine- she had pulled a long piece of her dark blue hair and was now wiggling it in her fingers.

"Amy," Sarah began, then pauses as she pushes this strange feeling in her stomach; like it was about to drop, "what else did you come here for?"

Amy lets the piece of hair drop and looks to Sarah with a beautiful smile. 

"There was this dance audition," Amy answers slowly, turning her gaze off the light bearer, she stares out of the window. It was covered with pink blossoms close to the top, however, nearer to the thing were yellowly-brown ones looking sticky as they rotted together, "It was for a school that teaches dancers that appear in front of the Dark King. And I took it!"

Sarah nods at her friend's words. Amy had always dreamt of being a dancer as a career, her parents were highly against it. 

Suddenly she realizes Amy was waiting for an answer. 

"And?" Sarah manages to get out, "Did you pass?" her stomach twisted painfully, feeling like she was losing her own dream.

"I." Amy said taking a deep inwards breath, a serious expression on her face, giving nothing away. Then she smiles brightly and cries out happily, "I passed!"

Sarah felt her stomach drop. 

However, they were no way she was going to let the one she loved most to know her thoughts of despair. 

"That's great Amy!" Sarah exclaims in delight, forcing herself to go along with the excited energy her friend was displaying, "Well done! You worked so hard, I'm happy for you!"

"I know! I can't believe it! And in three years, I could be dancing for the Dark King!" Amy says in pure joy, she suddenly jerks and falls silent, as if remembering something, "...but that won't happen if this starts... will it?" she questions looking sadden. 

And they both stood in silence, each one for different reasons. 

'Okay. Let's review.' Sarah thoughts, trying to harden her heart and keep herself together, 'Amy is leaving. For love? or her dancing career? Both? Two dreams for the price of one?' biting her lip she glancing at her friend/love interest and felt sick, 'I've known for a while she wanted to be a dancer, but to leave home for it? Will I see her again...? I could stop her if I wanted...' she took in a deep breath and stares hard at her friend, 'I'm dying and all...how can she do this to me...'

Sarah blinks at where her thoughts and feeling were heading, she could pull the pity card. There was anger and confusion warring within her. 

'Stop those thoughts.' Sarah scolded herself, 'If you truly love someone, you let them go.... right? So I need to continue to support Amy as I've always done. She would do the same for me. Amy has her own dreams for the future... and they don't include me...' 

A news flash broke them both out of their strange state, snapping them both back into reality.

"Amy, we can't stay here right now." Sarah told her with a shaky breath, "The Elders are attaching soon."

Sarah notices that Amy's eyes started filling with tears; feeling sorry for her, she goes over to give her a comforting hug but stops short when she sees those brown eyes shining once more. 

Following her line of sight, Sarah sees that the King Dark was on the screen. 

Sarah's arms dropped behind her and she closes her eyes and sighs deeply. 

"I know but," Amy's voice came causing her to open her eyes and blinking Sarah watch tears running down her cheeks, "this is my one chance," she continues with a sob, "I have to get to the city centre. That's where they're are collecting those who passed to the safety of their school.."

Sarah stares numbly at her for a monster, the bag with her monster coins wrapped around her middle suddenly felt heavy. 

"I can get you there." Sarah told her in a dull almost lifeless tone, knowing that she had the means to help, 'Come on, didn't I just say I would let her go. Let her live her life and not drag down with me.'

"You can!" Amy says brightening, she hurries to the bed and grabs a tissue and wipes her face, then she saddens again, "But they asked everyone to bring their own provisions." 

'...provisions?' Sarah thinks deeply, wondering where they could gather the things her friend need, 'Wait! My backpack!' she rushed forward and reached into her soul room, taking out the black backpack and dropping it on the bed, "Amy, will this stuff do?"

Amy frowns back looks inside and starts moving things around, looking more and more surprised as she did. 

"Yes!" Amy cries out at last, "It has everything that was written in the letter!" she smiles happily, "I can't believe it! This has to be fate! I can leave the city with the school now!"

"Letter?" Sarah half questions, her attention was back on the screen, the announcer was telling them the Elder f Light was an hour away.

"Here." Amy says as she reaches into the pocket of her jeans, pulling out a folded piece of paper and sticking it in Sarah's face. 

Sarah blinks dully at the piece of paper that was now blocking her view of the T.V, then lifting a hand out she takes it and unfolding, began reading the contains. All the while her mind was spinning with everything that was happening- the attack was an hour away and she needed to take her to the city centre, to the place where the Dark King was, a place she could never follow. 

"Sarah..." Amy says in an unsure manner, that was so unlike her, causing Sarah to look toward her, "...do you think he can protect us here?" she question.

Lowering the paper, Sarah sees that the King was on the screen once more. The tanned man was talking over the crowd of hundreds, all looking ready summon their monsters. 

Wordless, Sarah glances back to Amy, who had a worried expression- her heart went out to her; here was her dream of dancing was about to take off and now a war was going to start. 

'How should I feel towards her now?' Sarah questions herself as she studies the face she had come to love, 'What should I say? Moments ago I was hurt, angry and... no.' she hardens her heart, "Like I said before, I'll support her." she mumbles lightly and firmly. 

Sarah turns to Amy, then steps in front of her. 

"You love him right?" Sarah asks firmly causing her to jerk Amy to stare in surprise. 

"Yyy...yes." Amy answers seemingly unsure by the sudden fire in those purple orbs- Sarah knew how they looked, the stars no doubt had begun to glow too. 

"Then believe in him." Sarah said staring Amy right in the eye, "You said yourself, 'you are the one to understand him'; Then understand his strength! He will protect this city!" she blinks at this and adds silently, '..or something like that. That something so cliches it can give some romance novels a run for their money.'

Amy gave a little laugh at her words, then smiling brightly, she sniffs loudly and raises the backpack up and swung it over her shoulder, quickly slipping her arms through the straps.

"Sarah, please take me to the meeting spot!" Amy asks firmly, she balls her hands into fists as if gearing herself up for a mightly battle. 

"Okay." Sarah answers with a kind smile, studying her determined features, "I do love you,' she thinks sadly, then she wraps the bumbag around the leathery belts that made up her shadows. They respond to this by pulling it closer to them. 

The two childhood friends turn to the door and march over to it, they look to each other and nod. Amy opens it and they both hurry out before breaking out into a down the hallway; during this run, they held hands which kept them at the same pace and made them not lose each other through the many people that were also racing along. 

Reaching the stairs, they stared helplessly at the large number of people pushing and shoving each other exit as soon as possible. 

Sarah was knocked from behind and because of how small she was, she almost went flying; it was only Amy that kept her from falling down. 

"Sarah, what are going to do?" Amy calls over the noise of the many people gathered there- she helped the shorter teen to stay on her feet as more and more people came around them.

"If this goes on we'll be trapped!!" Sarah replies loudly, "Back to the room!" she turns and uses her powers to force with her Mimic Buff- it was a skill that shielded any force, then sent it back to the one who delivered it, doubly. 

Sarah blinks in shock as she made a large man crash into the wall... 

'I didn't put that much power into it?' Sarah thinks numbly, the tightening hand that clutched onto her made regain her senses. So Sarah was leaning, knocking any who came in front of them and dragging Amy behind her. 

Soon they made it past the crowd and ran back to the room panting heavily as they leant against the back of the door. 

Once Sarah got control of her breathing, she takes Amy's hand and pulls her all the way over to the window. 

"Sarah?" Amy questions in confusion, watching as Sarah peers through the glass, looking downwards. 

Sarah blinks and turns to Amy.

"Let's make a jump." Sarah suggests seriously, pointing outside, "Look how high the blossoms have got! That must be petty deep. Bet we could jump down without getting hurt.

"Are you for real?" Amy asks completely take aback by this, "What if that part is shallow or there's a car under it?"

"We have to take a chance," Sarah replies with a huff, reaching up she unlocks the window and pulls it open, or tries to- she places a foot on the windowsill, grabs the opening of the window frame and pulls... stopping and letting go, she kicks it as hard as she could, "Why won't this open any further than this?!"

"Well, that's because this is a hotel..." Amy points out slowly to ger mad friend, Sarah raises an eyebrow, "Heh ha. You're normally so smart with most things. All hotel's window only opens a small way."

"What?" Sarah questions, blinking at this news, "Fine! How about this then?!"

Sarah marches into the middle of the room and focuses solely on the window, she turns so that her left side was facing the way; she spreads her legs slightly, into a firm stance. Bringing up both hands to her chest, she curls her left hand and held it there as if she was holding something like a pole. Then with her right hand, she curls her pinky and ring finger while keeping her index and middle finger out straight and tuck her thumb at the base of these two. 

She turns her neck, so she was facing the window without moving her body from her position. Slowly, she took both hands up, so they were above her head; she then takes her left arm down, moving it further to the left while keeping her right hand in its place, at the same time, she lowers her arms; her right hand came to rest over her chest, with the left pointing out towards the window, still looking like he was gripping onto something. 

"Light Arrow!" Sarah hisses out, a thin beam of light flickers in front of her; a yellow arrow made of pure light appears in the space between her arms in the invisible bow, "Make this glass vanish!"

Sarah's index, middle finger and thumb of her right hand widen apart from each other and the glowing arrow projectiles forward, right for the windows. The arrow passes through without so much as a sound, the glass shone brightly and vanishes. 

"Okay!" Sarah cheers out, smiling brightly at the results, then looking to Amy says, "Let's go!"

"Wait! You're serious about jumping out?!" Amy cries out in surprise, she places her hands on her hips now staring in disbelief. 

"I'll go first." Sarah offers with a bold smile, she moves over to the window placing a foot on the sill, grabbing the frame, lifts herself up. 

Wind and blossom past by her. Sarah blinks down at the hight, it was higher than she thought now looking at it from this angle.

'Better than dying by someone else's hand,' Sarah thinks with a bitter smile, "And this will be my own choice."

" _ Sarah _ !" Amy screams in horror, trying to reach for her as she leapt forward into the air. 

Sarah fold her bends her knees and moves her legs slightly behind her, then with bent arms, she held her hands over her head- she could feel her cold fingers touches softly on the back of her neck as her hair flew upwards. 

It felt like a lifetime, just hanging in the air, with the wind and pink blossom all around- for a slipt second, she looks up in wonder at the sky above. 

There was something about these blossoms-

Suddenly time was moving again quickly, she pulls her legs in front of herself fast and seconds later, her rear end went into the blossoms first.

" _ Sarah _ !  _ Sarah _ !" She could hear Amy's frantic scream from above. 

Sarah lays there breathing hard, staring at the sky through the tunnel she had made. 

Slowly, Sarah pats herself down and it a mental check of her body. 

Sitting up and looking towards the building, she lets out a loud sigh. For some reason, the hotel staff had let this place pile up, that or it was where they dumped all the petals they kept having to remove from the entrances. 

Realizing that she should say something, she sat up, "I'm fine!" Sarah calls and tries to escape the foul-smelling rotten petals that lay beneath the pretty fresh and pink ones, "You jump too!"

"Okay! I'm coming now!" She hears as she fought against the blossoms. Thankfully the sticky rotten petals had kept the ones from above from falling down and burying her alive. 

Sarah grits her teeth when she heard Amy screaming her lungs out all the way down- she lands somewhere close by; quickly, she starts pushing her way through, trying to get to her. 

"Amy!" Sarah calls loudly, digging her way- she felt the sticky mess cold going under her fingernails and she had to rely only on her ears as her guide.

"Sarah! Here!" Amy calls back from somewhere, Sarah blinks and moves back as a hand came through the muck, making the walls of petals that was keeping them apart fall on top of their heads... the two friends stared at each other, "This is gross." Amy grumbles out after a moment.

"Sorry, I should have warned you," Sarah answers that and for a moment the pair just tried cleaning themselves down the best they could- once they finished, they looked at each other's dirty faces. 

"Can't you do something about this?" Amy questions sharply waving her hands around them, clearly upset about getting into this mess; she tries hard to wipe her face with her arms but the arm was just as bad. 

Sarah looks around at the decaying petals. She no longer could tell which way was towards the building. 

"...let me think..." Sarah replies after a long silence. She only went to 'war' classes because she had to and because of this learnt a lot of new skills because she had to work harder since her classmates never helped her in the beginning. Amy went to 'war' classes as well, every student had too, however in the water bearer's case, she was protected from all sides by her classmate and never really grew out her skill set none felt the need to get any monsters. 

Sarah knew that she always had to think three steps ahead of everyone else if she wanted to walk away without wounds- even if she could heal herself, it did not mean she wanted to get hurt. 

"*I know!" Sarah cries out with a grin, she got into position and readied herself. 

"What?" Amy asks with a deep frown, still trying to rub her face in vain.

"Just close your eyes." Sarah lightly orders and waits until Amy does so before clapping her hands together and raises up making small circles she cries out, "Breath of Light!"

A strong wind blew hard, aiming right to the ground. It caused the blossoms to fly off everywhere and whipped the two young women' hairs painfully around their faces and neck- the petals from under vanished with the force and the stumbled to the ground below, they had not been too far off from it... if it had been any more shallow, they might have broken their backs. 

Looking around, it was not just their immediate surrounds that had been taken by the wind.

"Huh? I forgot this was the carpark," Sarah says as she stands and gazes all-around them at the open space; then she looks to her hands, the wind had taken the worst of the rotten petals off them too. 

Glancing over to Amy, she sees her sitting on the ground with her head between her knees. Sarah moves over and was about to ask if she was alright when she heard her speak. 

"Give me a minute." Amy mumbles out taking long breaths, then slowly raising up she turns to Sarah, "Okay, I'm ready."


End file.
